Canadian Figure Skater Eric Radford Becomes First Ever Openly Gay Winter Olympics Gold Medalist
Eric Radford has become the first ever openly gay man to win a gold medal at the Winter Olympics.
The Canadian athlete won gold in the team figure skating event after he and his partner Meagan Duhamel skated magnificently to Adele’s Hometown Glory.
He followed in the footsteps of Australian diver Matthew Mitcham, who got a gold medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.
In the same event as Radford, gay skater Adam Rippon made history for Team USA by taking a bronze medal after performing to Coldplay’s O and Arrival of the Birds by Cinematic Orchestra.
But it was Radford who earned first place, taking the gold alongside teammates Gabrielle Daleman, Patrick Chan, Kaetlyn Osmond, Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir.
The 33-year-old, who also used Hometown Glory to win gold at the 2016 World Championships, posted on Twitter about breaking this huge barrier at the Pyeongchang Games.
He wrote: “This is amazing!
“I literally feel like I might explode with pride. #Olympics #outandproud #🏳️🌈”.
Radford came out in the same year that he won a silver medal at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Russia.
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At the time, he said: “I used to joke around that I’m the ultimate pair-boy.
“I never had to worry about developing an off-ice relationship.”
Radford will compete again in the pairs tournament, while Rippon will perform another men’s single.
Speaking after his performance, Rippon said: “I want to throw up. I want to go over to the judges and say, ‘Can I just have a Xanax and a quick drink? I’ll be fine.’ But I kept it together.”