British diver Tom Daley used his latest Olympic medal win to advocate for the LGBTQ+ community.
On Saturday ( 7 August) the young athlete took home the bronze medal for his performance in the 10m dive.
With this latest achievement, he is now the first British diver to earn four Olympic medals.
After his incredible win, Daley opened up to The Guardian about the constant hate that LGBTQ+ athletes receive during the Games.
“There’s still a lot further to go, there are 10 countries competing at these Olympic Games where being LGBT is punishable by death,” he said.
“I feel extremely lucky to be representing Team GB, to be able to stand on the diving board as myself with a husband and a son and not worry about ramifications.”
Daley went on to say that he hopes people feel “valued” and “less alone” now that there’s more LGBTQ+ representation at the Olympics.
“History shows everything that society is has been dictated from the straight, white male experience. And there are so many different perspectives and points of view, whether that’s race, whether that’s religion, whether that’s gender, whether that’s sexual orientation, whatever it is,” he said.
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“There are so many different points of view and if we can come together and use all those different points of view, then the world would be a better place.”
Throughout the course of the Tokyo Olympics, Daley has not only performed incredibly, but has also used his voice to also showcase his LGBTQ+ pride.
After winning the gold medal alongside diving partner Matty Lee, the 27-year-old said that he felt “empowered” to win as gay man.
“I feel incredibly proud to say that I am a gay man and also an Olympic champion. I feel very empowered by that because when I was younger I thought I was never going to be anything or achieve anything because of who I was, and to be an Olympic champion now just shows you can achieve anything,” he exclaimed.
In terms of his future, Daley told The Guardian that he isn’t ruling out an appearance at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
“There was a moment just before my first dive I looked around and I was like, ‘You know what? I’m at the Olympic Games and this is bloody cool.'”
Check out all the LGBTQ+ Olympic athletes and their wins here.
Related: Tokyo 2020: Tom Daley says he feels “empowered” to be a gay Olympic champion
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