“I want to be on Dancing with the Stars,” he tells PEOPLE. “It would be such a blast.” …

“I don’t know about the outfits, but I’ve worn worse,” laughs Louganis, who as a child wore “sequins, headbands and poofy sleeves” for jazz routines. “I’ve never done ballroom but I want to try … Dance really captures something you just can’t put into words.”

The Facebook campaign currently has over 1,500 likes. It would be great to have such a successful gay athlete on the show, so please do head to their page and “like” it too. Past athletes on the show have included Michael Irvin, Emmitt Smith, Kristi Yamaguchi, Apolo Anton Ohno, Jerry Rice and Kurt Warner.

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According to the Associated Press, Mitcham is putting all his eggs in the 10m platform basket for the London Olympics. It’s the event he won in Beijing with the highest-scoring dive in Olympic history.

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Diving, 2008. You’ve seen the likes of it in big Hollywood movies, but you’ve rarely seen it in real life. The hopes of gay fans around the world hung on one single dive. In the 10m finals in Beijing, Matthew Mitcham needed a near-perfect score in his sixth and final dive to win Olympic gold. It was virtually impossible. The Chinese had swept through the diving events at these Games and were again in complete control. The only openly gay male athlete at the 2008 Olympics would have to hope for silver.

Instead, Mitcham shocked the world. He nailed a dive that gave him a score of 112.10, the highest single-dive score in Olympic history. Minutes later he was standing poolside, after all the dives had been completed, and his name was atop the scoreboard. Mitcham had won Olympic gold in shocking fashion.

Watching the hard-to-find video from French TV of those historic couple minutes (see below), you can see the shock in Mitcham’s face and ensuing tears as he realized what he’d just done. The victory was so surprising that Mitcham had planned a long trip to Europe with his boyfriend shortly after the Games, not thinking there’d be much demand for him back home. But in the days and weeks that followed, Mitcham became the most sought-after gay man in the world.

Meanwhile, many fans were left wondering why NBC failed to mention that Mitcham is gay in their broadcast. While some dismissed it as “not important,” the fact that the only openly gay Olympian at the Games pulled off possibly the most shocking upset at the Olympics was in fact news. And many agreed. From Yahoo sports:

NBC did not mention Mitcham’s orientation, nor did they show his family and partner who were in the stands. NBC has made athletes’ significant others a part of the coverage in the past, choosing to spotlight track athlete Sanya Richards’ fiancee, a love triangle between French and Italian swimmers and Kerri Walsh’s wedding ring debacle.

Still, it was a moment of incredible pride for the entire LGBT community. It’s another of those moments that I will always remember where I was: In my hotel room in Washington DC waiting to head down to the NLGJA convention, hitting “refresh” on my computer screen (NBC aired the competition later that day). When the final result came up, I thought for a moment that one of the Chinese divers hadn’t yet completed his dives. Realizing that wasn’t the case, I launched into a frenzy of writing making Outsports one of the first news outlets to report the unbelievable comeback, upsetting some of our readers (sorry) by revealing the incredible result. Still, news of the incredible victory flooded the internet and many more people got to watch the event because of it.

Mitcham wasn’t shy about his sexual orientation following his gold-medal performance, thanking his boyfriend Lachlan Fletcher repeatedly. He went on to work with various gay groups including the Gay Games in 2010.

But for many, nothing will be as rich as that day the only openly gay Olympian shocked the world. It was one of the highest-trafficked days in the history of Outsports, and Mitcham continues to be a big draw wherever he goes.

For more information:

• Matthew Mitcham wins gold
• NBC fails to mention Mitcham’s sexual orientation
• NBC apologized a couple days later
• Mitcham Wikipedia page
• Mitcham’s Twitter account

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Part of Outsports’ series on our 100 most important moments in gay sports history.

While it might have been Louganis’ official public coming out, his being gay was long rumored in the sports world. It did not make his statement at the Gay Games any less powerful. I was among those at the ceremony at Columbia University who cheered wildly when he appeared on the video screen to deliver his message. Louganis attended the Games competition as a diving judge.

Louganis’ status as a sports superstar was assured by his winning two gold medals in two consecutive Olympics — 1984 and 1988. In Seoul he competed despite testing positive for HIV prior to the Games and briefly thinking about backing out. He then hit his head on a nasty dive in the prelims that required five stitches. Yet he came back with a clutch performance to win the gold in the springboard.

Imagine competing knowing you have just tested positive for a disease that at the time was considered a death sentence. And then conking yourself on the head. And still winning two golds. That shows guts, determination and toughness, all qualities that the stereotypes say gay men could not have in athletics. It was a compelling story, yet one hidden from the public because Louganis was not yet out.

The diver went on the write a best-seller “Breaking the Surface” and became a public face of the AIDS epidemic. Through it all, he endured and thrived.

In many ways, Louganis has come full circle, coaching divers in Southern California, as the New York Times reported earlier this year:

As a competitor, Louganis’s mechanics were so sound that China’s national coaches in the 1980s pored over film of his dives and tailored their programs to match his technical precision. Perhaps not surprisingly, the Chinese have dominated diving much as Louganis did. They have excelled at the expense of the United States, which did not win a diving medal at the past two Summer Olympics.

Louganis emphasizes practice over competition and the whole person over the athlete. He encourages his divers to keep daily journals in which they write their intentions for each practice, then critique their performances.

Louganis is healthy despite being HIV-positive, yet is concerned that younger gay men see the disease as something easily treatable:

“I was diagnosed [ HIV-positive ] 23 years ago … a lot has changed since then. It’s kind of a mixed blessing. People are living longer in general, but, the message that it sends to the kids is, ‘Oh, this can be treated with a pill.’ The only problem with that mentality is, I wouldn’t wish my drug regimen on anyone and also, not everyone tolerates the drugs the same. The drugs, for instance, metabolize differently in women. Plus, there are not a lot of studies [ about the medicine ] on kids. Plus, they see Magic Johnson out there, relatively healthy,” so some don’t worry about an HIV diagnosis.

“Prevention is key. Of course it’s better to not have to deal with it. Protection. Just play safe.”

Louganis is one of the greatest Olympians ever and it’s great to see him still contributing and making a difference.

Louganis message at Gay Games IV (starts at 2:30):

For more information:

• Louganis Wikipedia page
• Louganis keeps on diving against HIV/AIDS
• Louganis returns as a coach

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David Pichler

Part of Outsports’ series on our 100 most important moments in gay sports history.

Diving 1996, 2000: Greg Louganis is by far the most famous openly gay Olympic diver, but David Pichler and Pattick Jeffrey also take their place in gay sports history.

Pichler came out in 1996 and competed in the Atlanta Games that year and in Sydney in 2000, where he was the team captain. Jeffrey competed in the 1988 Seoul Games but was openly gay when he competed in 1996. At one point, Jeffrey became Pichler’s coach.

Pichler’s 1996 was the stuff of soap opera after he accused his Olympic coach Ron O’Brien in meddling in his relationship with his boyfriend, accusing O’Brien of being out to get him. Wrote the Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel at the time:

“It’s been sheer hell on a regular basis,” Pichler said after last month’s U.S. diving trials in Indianapolis. “I have been harassed, assaulted and pushed. When I compete, [O'Brien) walks by and plays head games with me all the time." Since the trials, Pichler has declined to comment.

Pichler, who was runner-up in the trials, says he will feel "very uncomfortable being on the same pool deck" with O'Brien, even though he once trained under O'Brien as a member of the Fort Lauderdale Diving Team.

[Steven] Guiffre, Pichler’s companion, says O’Brien loathes him so much that he fears the coach would set up Pichler to fail his Olympic drug test, by tampering with his food or drink.

For his part, O’Brien blamed Guiffre for messing up Pichler’s preparation, likening the diver to an abused spouse. Read the whole story since it’s all rather confusing.

As for Jeffrey, he has been the head coach of Florida State’s men’s diving team for 12 years. He was inducted into the Ohio State Hall of Fame in 2005.

For more information:

• Pichler’s Wikipedia page.
• Jeffrey’s Florida State diving page.
• Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel article on Pichler’s battle with his 1996 Olympics coach.
• Jeffrey talks to the Advocate about being out at the Olympics

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I’m very interested to connect with gay male collegiate coaches of any sport, any division, head coach or assistant coach, out or closeted, who would be willing to do a 45-60 minute interview with me about his experiences. Confidentiality is a big concern for the study, and I have put in place the best processes I can to make sure that the content of the interviews, names, and institutional affiliation will be kept anonymous. My advisor and I will be the only people who have access to the interview transcripts before they are redacted for anonymity.

Like a lot of gay athletes, Thomae wrestled with his sexuality and was terrified of being found out. After a process of self-discovery, he started coming out to more people. When he accepted the diving coach job he was totally out and says there has been “zero drama” about it.

As for what he is trying to discover with his thesis, Thomae said:

In 2008, I went back to graduate school for a second time, this time for sport & exercise psychology.  In our Psych of Coaching class, we discussed Krane and Barber’s qualitative study about lesbian coaches.  I was able to talk about my experiences, and was really interested in the apparent differences between lesbians and gay men in sport: the faulty assumption is that really good female athletes “must be” lesbian, but really good male athletes (particularly in the big time sports) are assumed to be straight.

Even diving, which is derided as a “gay sport” by some, struck me as having a fairly deep closet for coaches, and it got me thinking about how difficult it must be for gay coaches in other sports to make the decision to come out or stay closeted in their work.  After talking to my advisor, we agreed that doing a study like Krane and Barber but for gay male coaches could reveal both some very interesting similarities AND differences in the experiences of gay men and lesbians in coaching.

Anyone interested in possibly participating can read more and contact Thomae.

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His teammates on the men’s varsity swimming team threw kickboards at him. Laughing, they taunted him throughout afternoon practice, punning on his name and cracking nasty comments.

But it wasn’t because he was gay — he’s not. And they didn’t think he was.

His teammates berated him that afternoon because he had made a homophobic comment in an e-mail thread about an openly gay member of the team.

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Mitcham lost the 10-meter platform event to Tom Daley of Britain, who had one dive that had perfect 10s.

“I blew it,” admitted Mitcham, after he fluffed his final dive to gift gold to his young rival. ‘I gave it away, which I really didn’t want to do. I was so close to winning,” he said, frustrated he didn’t dive ”even close to my best”.

Mitcham led in all four events, but won none of them. If he wants to repeat as Olympic gold medalist in 2012, he will have to up his game. The Chinese divers will be favorites, while Daley will have the home-pool advantage.

Mitcham, who is openly gay, was a bit hit with Indian fans, some of whom held up signs saying, “Matthew Mitcham: India loves you.” Said Mitcham: “I am swelling with pride that they are here to support me.”

Some gay Indian fans could not get tickets to Mitcham’s events because of a ticket snafu, but that did not stop some from gushing over having an openly gay athlete at the Games. Said one:

“A friend mentioned that a very hot gay swimmer is coming for the games and when I looked him up on the net, I knew I wanted to watch his moves, rather literally!”

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One of my favorites is this French foursome who got real close to each after a relay win:

Check out the complete gallery.

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You know what’s not a top play? Wearing a teeny, tiny swimsuit.

Flores gave the obligated “Oooh” at the horror of a man wearing a speedo.

Wow, they are such masculine men. They don’t like guys wearing speedos! I bet they dig a hot chick in a two-piece, too. They are so straight. I wonder how they could stand watching Michael Phelps win all those gold medals in Beijing. I mean, you could see a bulge in his swim pants! And sometimes he didn’t wear a shirt! Yikes! Everett must have just listened to it on the radio.

I don’t know how Deadspin could have possibly named Everett the second most likely ESPN sportscaster to be gay. He’s so straight! They obviously didn’t hear Everett diss speedos. If they had, they would have realized what a straight, macho guy he is. I just couldn’t find any information on him being married to a woman. Ever. He’s 48, so he must have been married to a woman at some point, right?

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