He suffered too much. She had a hard time making the decision. He went through very delicate moments, however, he understood that it was time to take the step and stop “hiding”.
Former athlete Kelly Holmes, double Olympic champion in Athens 2004, In an interview in The Sunday Mirror he broke the silence and after more than 30 years he was encouraged to talk about his sexual condition and the horrible moments he had to live for not being able to say: “I’m gay”.
At 52, the British admitted to having lived a secret life for decades: “There were a lot of dark moments where I wished I could scream that I was gay, but I couldn’t.”
(Sergio Higuita, extraordinary: second in the Tour of Switzerland 2022)
(Zinedine Zidane: the name of the team he is going to lead is filtered)
The most delicate part of the case is that at the age of 17 he discovered his sexual orientation and since then he has sought all kinds of resources to hide his truth. In this talk he said that:
“While I was in the Royal Women’s Army Corps, a fellow soldier kissed me. Then I realized that I had to be gay, because I felt good, comfortable.
Holmes explained that the stigma that existed in those years about homosexuality and the Army made him not speak publicly about his sexual choice and as his popularity grew due to his sporting achievements, the situation became more complex for him to handle.
A bad experience with COVID untied that knot that she couldn’t let go of and she decided to speak up: “I wanted to show my true self. Sometimes I cry with relief. Now that this is out, I’m essentially getting rid of that fear.”
Kelly became the third woman in history, and the first British woman since Albert Hill, to win the 800m and 1500m double at the 2004 Athens Games. She won seven Olympic gold, eight silver and four bronze medals. throughout his sports career.
Holmes in the talk with the British newspaper spoke of her fears of being punished for being gay and serving in the army: “I’ve been convinced my whole life that if I admitted to being gay in the military I’d be in trouble.”
She even described an incident in which the Military Police searched her accommodation, in what she believed was an attempt to discover her sexuality: “They took everything out of the closet, they took out the beds and the drawers, they read lettersall, trying to catch us, so that we could be arrested, court-martialed, and potentially go to jail,” she said.
The former athlete contacted an LGBTQ+ military leader to ask him if he could still face sanctions for his homosexuality and relationship with the army. The lawyer assured him no and there he decided. Gay, transgender, and bisexual people in the military faced imprisonment if their sexuality or gender identity was discovered. The law was changed in 2000 after four serving men and women, who were fired for being gay, won a case at the European Court of Human Rights.
He lived through such delicate moments, of so much sadness, that he even thought about suicide.
“When I got injured or sick, I cried all the time because all I had to do was run again, because if I didn’t run again, my brain would go crazy. In fact, I cut myself with scissors before the 2003 World Cup final. I was in the bathroom and I literally wanted to scream so hard I turned on the faucet to stop my tears. I didn’t want to be here anymore. I cut myself on my arms and legs because I felt like I had no control over myself.”
After the interview came out, Holmes made a post on Instagram in which he put the link to that talk and in which he wrote: “I can finally breathe. Yeah I’ve been petrified to post this, you have no idea how scared I was. Please share, tell everyone because it will surely open your eyes. This journey has been the hardest part of life. Living with any kind of fear is debilitating. I lived in fear for 34 years and I’m exhausted and I don’t want to do it anymore. I hope those who read my story will help me get through this next phase of fear, but also be there for others.”
And he ended in the talk with Mirror: “I needed to do this now, for me. It was my decision. I’m nervous to say it. I feel like I’m going to explode with excitement. I am finally free.”
(Nairo Quintana: fifth ‘Top’ six and ready for the Tour de France)
(Santiago Buitrago, fearless to fight for the lead in Bahrain)
Sports
#Olympic #champion #closet #years #declares #gay