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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Mitcham was fourth after the first two rounds, then pulled off what was described as a “flawless new dive – an armstand-back double with a two-and-a-half twist – that earned perfect 10s from the judges.” Like in 2008, Mitcham beat two Chinese divers for the top spot.

“It is the second time I have beaten the Chinese on their home ground,” Mitcham said.

“The Chinese crowd is very supportive of me and they appreciated the good diving.

“Even though this is my second PB in a month, I still don’t feel I have dived my best and there is still room for improvement before the London 2012 Olympics.”

Mitcham, who is openly gay, said he is diving better than he did in Beijing. He showed again that he can perform in the clutch.

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By the way, Mitcham will be in Cologne for the Gay Games as well. While not competing, he will be making the rounds; So be sure to grab him and say hi!

Photos after the jump.

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I’m excited to be part of something so important for our communities around the globe. … Participating at the Gay Games is a great chance for all gays and lesbians to show that we as a community are not like the stereotypes the straight media loves to portray. I will take time off from training and travel to Cologne, since I strongly feel we have to celebrate our own values and help others to accept that it is ok to be different.

This is a big boon for the Gay Games. In the gay-sports world, there may be no bigger star than Mitcham. There are precious few celebrities I have any strong desire to meet, but Mitcham’s one; I certainly hope I run into him in Germany!

I chose the picture of Matthew above because he’s holding a gold medal from Gay Games VI in Sydney. I actually own two of those gold medals. Imagine that, I have a gold medal that Mitcham doesn’t have; While I treasure them, I’d trade my two for the one big gold medal he has in a heartbeat.

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Matthew Mitcham

Matthew Mitcham misfired on his final dive and finished out of the medals in the 10-meter platform event at the FINA world swimming and diving championships in Rome. This was the same event where the openly gay Aussie shocked the world last year at the Olympics by winning the gold with a sensational final dive.

Mitcham over-rotated his landing, making a huge splash. He buried his head in his hands after climbing out of the water, fully aware his chance to win another gold was gone.

“I didn’t quite save,” he said. “Sometimes you can save dives that are a bit over, and I really tried to fight for it, but I still kicked up a little bit of water.”

Mitcham and Qiu Bo of China were battling it out for the gold heading into the final dive, but both men botched it and the event was won by 15-year-old Tom Daley from Britain. Qiu won the silver and Zhou Luxin of China the bronze. Mitcham finished 1 point from a bronze.

One reporter, Nicole Jeffery of the Herald Sun, wrote that Mitcham is “too nice for his own good” by not putting enough pressure on Daley leading up to the final.

Mitcham doesn’t have the killer instinct that other competitors use to exploit their rivals’ weaknesses.

The Australian had identified Daley as the main threat for the title but would not say so publicly for fear of adding to the enormous expectation surrounding the British boy leading up to the 2012 London Olympics.

“I didn’t want to put pressure on him,” Mitcham said.

“I knew he felt the pressure in Beijing last year (where Daley finished seventh, aged 14) so I didn’t want to do that to him. But I thought he was diving the best in the world this year.”

Asked if he should have been more ruthless, Mitcham said: “It’s not the way I work. I believe in karma.”

Good for Mitcham. Every athlete deals with their event in their own way, and had he nailed his final dive (his degree of difficulty was higher than the dive performed by Daley), Mitcham would have won the gold. And no one can say that Mitcham can’t handle pressure, given his record-setting dive to win the 10-meter gold in Beijing. Mitcham has called Daley a “well-mannered, polite and friendly young man,” so he is showing class by not trying to play mind games with him.

A friend of mine watching coverage on NBC Universal said the commentators mentioned what a great thing it was for gays when Mitcham won the Olympic gold. This is the same NBC that had to apologize for not mention Mitcham being openly gay during its Olympic coverage.

However, in a positive sign, writers covering the event have not referred to Mitcham being gay, and are simply discussing his performance in the context of the competition. This shows that he will not be permanently labeled the “gay diver.” I suspect this would be the case of any openly gay athlete once the curiosity factor wears off.

Mitcham won a bronze medal in Rome in the 1-meter springboard, and did not medal in the 3-meter.

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Mitcham after arriving back in Sydney.

Olympic gold medal diver Matthew Mitcham is showing no signs of swine flu after returning early to Australia from Mexico where he was attending a diving competition. He will stay home in a voluntary isolation for a couple of days as a precautionary measure.

Mitcham, 21, will stay at home with his partner [Lachlan Fletcher], who has bought face masks and anti-flu medicine.

“We got tested before we got on the plane in Mexico and were all asymptomatic,” Mitcham said. “I would have to pash [kiss] you for you to get it.”

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Although he insists he has had nothing but positive feedback from fellow athletes and the media since going public, he admits he has attracted precious little corporate sponsorship compared to Australia’s other gold medalists.

“I haven’t experienced any homophobia in sport but I’m hoping I’m not experiencing any in the corporate world because I haven’t had any companies rushing to sponsor me,” he said. “It took me a very long time to secure any form of sponsorship after the Olympics, and that’s still my only sponsorship.”

Mitcham’s comments were more nuanced than the headline on the Telegraph, which said, “Matthew Mitcham says gay status cost him sponsorship.” Mitcham was not quoted as being that specific, yet this was the slant taken by other website that picked up the story, including Pink News, which incorrectly quoted Mitcham in its headline as saying, “Being gay cost me sponsorships.”

The use of language on this subject is important. If Mitcham is blaming homophobia for only having one sponsor, then he needs to say it and offer some proof. But that is not what he is saying; he is wondering aloud as to whether coming out has had a negative effect on sponsors.

I have argued that there is no evidence that homophobia has played a role. Instead, I see other reasons, such as diving’s relative obscurity on the Australian sporting scene; Mitcham’s decision to drop from public view for two months after the Games and not keep a strong public profile that would appeal to sponsors; bad timing with the global recession forcing businesses to evaluate sponsorships, and perhaps his management team being too picky on what it would endorse.

Mitcham is far from the only gold medalist who has not cashed in. Other than Michael Phelps, it’s hard to think of any American athlete who has made an endorsement splash. And Down Under, Aussie pole vaulter gold medal winner Steven Hooker (presumably straight) is still waiting for sponsors (though some are expected) and he competes in a sport with a much higher profile than diving.

Mitcham, who finished fourth at a 10-meter platform event last weekend, has never regretted coming out and has garnered a lot of publicity and acclaim for being who he is (he won Australia’s sportsman of the year award for 2008). However, if a storyline emerges that homophobia has cost him sponsors (despite any evidence to support it), this would have a detrimental effect on other athletes considering whether to come out, and reinforce stereotypes of what would happen to an openly gay athlete.

Homophobia exists in sport, yet should not be trotted out every time a gay athlete does not get what he wants (unless there is proof). The media also have a responsibility to report accurately on the issue and not use misleading headlines that paint a false picture for their audience. I would to hear your take on this.

Related: Our Matthew Mitcham archive.

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“Obviously my niche, my demographic is young men, but it is also gay men, so I’ll be involved in different areas, all promoting healthiness, whether that be sex checks or healthy eating or exercise or getting cancer treated. A lot of men think maybe they are a little bit invincible. Women get regular check ups more often than men and a lot of men go without for a long time and end up finding something when it is too late. If I can prevent that, I would like to.”

Some of the interview hits on ground covered in prior sessions with the press, which you can catch up on through the Matthew Mitcham category on Outsports. But it is notable for being one of Mitcham’s few sessions with a gay media outlet and the first since his sexy spread in the Advocate.

In the interview, he also chimes in on athletes behaving badly in the wake of his appearance on the first float in the parade at Sydney’s Mardi Gras. He apparently was more mindful of his public persona than say Michael Phelps and his lip-locking of a bong.

“I’m allowed to have fun,” he said, “but there have been so many athletes who have been caught in the wrong place at the wrong time and whether they were innocent or not, they’ve copped a lot of flak for that. I’m going to be embodiment of sobriety and responsibility, just because I don’t want to be put in that position.”

Matt Hennie blogs on Atlanta’s gay sports scene (and other stuff) at Project Q Atlanta.

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Mitcham on the lead gay parade float.

Gold-medal Olympic diver Matthew Mitcham was the grand marshal of the annual gay Mardi Gras parade in Sydney, Australia, attended by an estimated 300,000 people. (See full-size image of Mitcham on parade).

Mitcham took center stage on the first float, dressed in green shorts and gold singlet, his Beijing gold medal hanging around his neck.

Surrounding him were male dancers, dressed in Speedos and carrying scorecards.

Earlier on Saturday, the only openly gay medal winner at the Beijing Games told reporters he grew up as an “ugly duckling”, but became a champion on the trampoline and later the diving board to complete his fairytale story.

“Mardi Gras is the biggest celebration of homosexuality in the world and aims to promote not just the tolerance but the acceptance of the gay community in the wider community,” he said.

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