news

Come August, 20-year-old Australian diver Matthew Mitcham will do what no Australian athlete has ever done before: compete in an Olympic Games after coming out as gay.

In an exclusive interview wit the Sydney Morning Herald today, Matthew confirmed his homosexuality, the love and support of his partner Lachlan, and his battles with stress and depression that saw him quit the sport nine months ago.

Matthew also showed plenty of game at a pre-Beijing meet recently by beating out two Chinese favourites in a thrilling 10 metre platform dive. (See a clip of Matthew in action below).

Matthew has also applied for funding to allow Lachlan to accompany him to Beijing.

The Herald reports: Matthew has also applied for a grant through a Johnson & Johnson Athlete Family Support Program to have Lachlan near him in Beijing.

"We can't afford for Lachlan to go at the moment," he told the Herald. "But Johnson & Johnson offer grants to go to Beijing and I've nominated Lachlan as the support person I want to go."

The Herald also recounted Matthew's triumph just over a week ago in Fort Lauderdale. Mitcham stood 10 metres high with the fierce wind whistling in his ears and battling trying conditions. "When I was whizzing around, the sky is the same colour as the water. I was freaking out. It was the first time I had dived outside since I left the sport."

His performance was astonishing. Mitcham beat two top Chinese divers who will challenge him for gold. When he saw his four perfect 10s he whooped and leaped on the pool deck.

Finally, the man who had battled anxiety and depression as a teenager, taking medication and seeing psychologists, had arrived on the world stage. And it proved the time he spent away from the sport last year had been worth it. Mitcham's premature retirement had been a chaotic and unusual time when he "partied" and lived without regimen.