JOCK DUDE: MATTHEW MITCHAM

 

DNA Magazine has devoted the cover of Issue #105 to celebrate the recent Olympic triumph of Aussie golden boy, Matthew Mitcham whose record-smashing diving success in Beijing made him a sporting champion and a gay role-model almost over night.  The issue includes a great profile on Matthew written by Cameron Jewell, as well as a cute pic of Matthew and his boyfriend, Lachlan . . . both of which you can see here after the jump.

 

In one of the most exciting Olympic finals ever, Aussie diving hero Matthew Mitcham brought home gold becoming not just a sporting champion but an important gay role-model, too. Profile by Cameron Jewell.

Matthew Mitcham has made both Australia and the international gay community extremely proud with his history-making, record-smashing, gold-medal-winning performance in the 10-metre platform diving finals at the Beijing Olympics, becoming Australia’s first openly gay gold-medallist. After an average start, Matthew climbed to the top of the leaders’ board with a series of brilliantly executed dives. After his main threat, China’s Zhou Luxin, performed his last (and worst) dive and scored a low 74.80, the door opened for Mitcham to steal the gold, effectively halting China’s clean-sweep. Mitcham needed 107.30 – an incredibly high score – for his last dive to take home gold. The pressure was on. He performed his signature dive – an incredibly complex back two-and-a-half somersault, two-and-a-half twists pike – flawlessly, receiving a score of 112.10, the highest score ever to be awarded to a dive in Olympic history.

After the scores were announced, Mitcham was overcome by the gravity of what had just happened. “I was crying thinking that I had silver,” said Mitcham, “and then to get gold – I was a blubbering mess.”

Mitcham was so overcome with emotion he didn’t even see DNA’s second favourite diver, Alexandre Despatie, trying to congratulate him on the medal performance for at least a few minutes. We were screaming, “Turn around! It’s Alexandre Despatie!” at the television but Matthew was too busy focusing on thanking the many people who helped him get to this point in his career.

While Matthew made the whole process look effortless, his diving career has been anything but smooth. Starting out as a trampoline gymnast in his hometown of Brisbane at the tender age of nine, Mitcham was discovered by diving coach Wang Tong Xiang and persuaded into diving. Matthew won a gamut of competitions at a junior level and looked set to become one of Australia’s finest divers ever. However, he unexpectedly quit diving in 2006 with no intention of returning. Being in competitive sport from such a young age had taken its toll. Matthew was suffering from depression and anxiety and just wanted to live a normal life. It was during his absence from the sport that Matthew says he learned through his partner of two years, Lachlan Fletcher, how to do this.

After eight months out of the sport Matthew started to miss it. His current Olympic coach, Chava Sobrino, had told him to call if he felt like coming back. Matthew did just that, packed his things and moved to Sydney. “Best thing I ever did,” he told DNA. We think so, too.

Much has been made of Mitcham’s sexuality both in Australia and internationally, but as Mitcham previously told DNA, “I didn’t think it was a big issue at all.” The media clearly thought otherwise. The day after his gold medal win, the Sydney Morning Herald, who was the first publication to report on Mitcham’s sexuality, splashed the headline “Gay Pride” across the front cover. While many in the gay community welcome the attention Matthew has received, others feel the mainstream press have belittled his stellar performance by choosing to focus on his sexuality instead of his sporting ability.

Mitcham’s performance is groundbreaking in many other respects. He is the first Australian to win gold in diving in over 80 years – Dick Evans was the last person to do this way back in 1924. And let’s not forget Mitcham’s final dive was rewarded with the highest diving score in the whole history of the Olympic Games – the highest score ever. Now that’s definitely a headline-worthy feat!

While Matthew doesn’t feel his sexuality is an issue, he has nonetheless become a role model for many young gay people around the world. In fact, his nonchalant attitude provides a great mantra for people struggling to come to terms with their sexuality as well as for the general community – it’s not a big deal! Fronting the eagerly awaiting media scrum, Mitcham stated succinctly, “I don’t want to be known as the gay diver. I want to be known as a good diver.” And that’s what his gold medal signifies. He is one the best divers in the world.

Even though he made his thoughts very clear, a strange debate emerged afterwards when American broadcaster NBC didn’t report on Mitcham’s sexuality or Lachlan, prompting cries of censorship and discrimination. Whether this was censorship or just choosing to focus on Mitcham’s astounding performance is difficult to know. While many people were of the opinion that NBC’s role was to report on a sporting event and not on athletes’ personal lives, the broadcaster had already reported on a love triangle between French and Italian swimmers, a wedding and highlighted a track star’s fiancée, so why not Mitcham’s partner?

NBC later released an apology for the oversight, saying,”We regret that we missed the opportunity to tell Matthew Mitcham’s story. We apologise for this unintentional omission.”
In our online poll, 47 per cent of DNA Online readers decided that NBC didn’t discriminate – they were reporting on a win, not a gay. Thirty-three per cent said that NBC snubbed gay people while 20 per cent thought that Lachlan was snubbed.

When DNA caught up with Matthew after the games, he was taking a well-deserved break in Rome with Lachlan. Due to Italian press coverage, the pair has been recognised on the streets of Italy frequently and many of the friendly locals have hosted parties in their honour. Matthew has decided not to do any interviews until he gets home in October but both he and Lachlan were happy to pose for us on the balcony of their terrace. They’re having a great time.

“It’s going to take a while to sink in,” Mitcham said directly after the win. “My cheeks hurt from smiling. My face hurts from the chlorine. My legs are sore from jumping up and down. I’m in pain and I’m tired. But I’m so happy.”

DNA whole-heartedly congratulates Matthew Mitcham and all our Olympic athletes.