Diver says homosexuality in elite sport should not be an issue

DIVING gold medal hope Matthew Mitcham says he just wants to be known as a successful Australian diver, and his homosexuality should not be an issue.

Mitcham's sexuality was revealed in May, when a reporter asked him who he lived with - "I hadn't planned to do it at all," Mitcham tells the the latest edition of the Advocate. "It was just a question."  

He is now hoping to become one of the few openly gay athletes to win Olympic gold.

"I just want to be known as the Australian diver who did really well at the Olympics," he said.

"It's everybody else who thinks it's special when homosexuality and elite sport go together."

Mitcham denied his revelation has made it awkward around fellow divers, admitting that diving is one of the easier sports to come out in.

"They don't seem to mind that I'm a big homo," he said.

Diver says homosexuality in elite sport should not be an issue Melbourne Herald Sun