Introducing Out Gay Gymnast Heath Thorpe
When the surname name Thorpe and the Olympics are mentioned together, Australians think of legendary swimmer Ian Thorpe and his journey to coming out publicly. Now we’re introducing another Olympic hopeful with his own story to tell; Sydney-based gymnast Heath Thorpe has his eyes set on Paris 2024 and a gold medal, reports Q News.
Heath hopes to break the gymnastics stereotypes
There are only a few out gay athletes in men’s gymnastics but the sport is reforming to make room for diversity and the number grows each year. Heath Thorpe came out publicly as gay when he was 18 years old and hopes to secure his place at the 2024 Olympics with the Australian Team.
After winning the Oceania Continental Championships on the Gold Coast, Thorpe and Team Australia are on their way to the World Championships in Belgium. If selected, they can represent Australia in Paris where Heath hopes to use his platform to reorient the stereotypes tied with gymnastics.
The Paris 2024 committee intend to allow competitors to openly discuss issues involved with their sport. The hope is to help diverse voices find a place among elite sports. LGBTQIA+ Olympians are becoming increasingly common, so having the opportunity to speak truth to their experience will help reduce stigma for queer athletes.
Heath Thorpe tells Inside Gymnastics that his sport still has a perception issue with gender. “Outside of the gymnastics world there is a stereotype of men’s gymnastics being feminine or being seen as gay or girly,” he says. “So you’re told from a young age that the sport you’re doing is emasculating, essentially. I think in retaliation to that, men’s gymnastics has created this environment of hyper masculinity and heteronormativity.”
Femininity isn’t something to be ashamed of. Nor is it an innate part of any sport regardless of which gender is predominant. Heath Thorpe believes there is artistry involved with gymnastics and a focus on masculinising the routines risks forgoing some of that art. “Artistry in the eyes of men’s gymnastics equals femininity and for some reason we see that as a bad thing,” he says. “[Taking] away the space for any creativity… can be a really dangerous thing because it just becomes a sport about power tumbling.”
