S. African archer aims at homophobia at Olympics
Source: Agencies |
August 6, 2012, Monday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
SOUTH African archer Karen Hultzer hopes coming out as a lesbian at the London Olympics will help people struggling with their sexuality and add to the fight against homophobia in sport.
One of 23 openly gay and lesbian athletes at the London Games, Hultzer waited until after her event to go public.
After finishing 46th out of 64 in the women's archery, she said most athletes were so focused on their performance that they could not fight other battles while competing.
"I hope this gives people some courage. The more we come out and talk about it, the more people should realize that being gay is a non-issue and we can progress," said Hultzer, 46, who has only been shooting for five years.
The issue of homophobia in sport dates back decades but made headlines in Britain in 1998 when English soccer player Justin Fashanu committed suicide eight years after announcing he was gay. His brother John, also a footballer, still denies he was gay.
Gay rights campaigners said there are still only a handful of top athletes who are openly gay, and usually their admissions come post-career, so have called on the International Olympic Committee to actively tackle discrimination against homosexuality in sport.
Online gay sport site OutSports.com found 23 openly gay athletes at London, of which three are men, compared with 10 at Beijing in 2008 and 11 at Athens in 2004. There have been 104 publicly gay athletes at Summer Olympics.
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