Fans rallied around French track and field athlete Dimitri Pavadé after he came out as gay in a post on Instagram after finishing 4th in the men's long jump T64 classification final at the Paris Paralympics.
On Wednesday, Pavadé, a silver medalist at the 2020 Tokyo Games who had the tibia on his right leg amputated in 2007 following a work accident, missed out on a bronze medal by just 0.06 meters. On Saturday, he took to Instagram, sharing a photo of himself smiling and holding rainbow-colored interlocking male gender symbols, signaling his coming out in the caption.
He wrote (translated from French to English):
"In my life as ordinary as it has been, I never had a project, an ambition, an objective but just let myself be carried by the wind and live my life in the present moment. Since my beginnings in the world of sport, I can say that certain things have matured in me, a thought or a dream of being part of the French team, today I can say with great pride that it is done."
"Today I was able to find my way and give meaning to what I accomplish every day 'wanting to be the icon of people with disabilities.' Another fight awaits me now and I was impatiently waiting for this moment. Here I am today ready once again to face, overcome and move forward without taking into account what others may say or think of me."
"Yes, I am SMALL, MIXED-RACISM, ONE-LEG, and to add insult to injury, GAY!!!!!! The person that I am and like others, have never had to make a choice so stop with your pitiful speeches and your judgments without reasoning because you will never change the world."
"The most important thing in my eyes today is that the beings who matter to me, love me for the person that I am, and not for an image that I could have created, in this overly judgmental society."
"If some do not accept you as you are then they are not worthy of your LOVE. Life is too short to give importance to this kind of individuals."
Pavadé, a native of Réunion, a French island roughly 422 miles east of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean, said he has a "a second fight to lead with MY LGBTQIA+ COMMUNITY" and hopes his announcement can "give strength and courage also to the people still in the CLOSET or to these HIGH-LEVEL SPORTSMEN who do not dare to live openly and freely this freedom that is rightfully ours."
He concluded:
"Disability is not meant to be hidden or ashamed of, the same goes for your sexual orientation, so embrace yourself as you are and remember that you are not alone, life is extremely short and so many beautiful things are offered to us that we cannot deprive ourselves of them."
"Children and adults still commit suicide or are killed today. Don't forget that in your entourage you could one day be affected."
You can see his post below.
Many praised the athlete for sharing so candidly and openly.
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Pavadé isn't the only track star to come out in recent weeks.
In July, 25-year-old American track star Trey Cunningham publicly came out as gay in an interview with the New York Times, discussing his sexuality after the U.S. Olympic Trials for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Cunningham described coming out to his family in private five years ago as the “scariest thing I’ve ever done" and explained that his decision to come out publicly stems from a track training technique he uses to "say our goals out loud."
The athlete, who competed for Florida State University, mentioned that he didn’t “explore the idea” of being gay until he reached college. He attributed the slow exploration of his sexuality to his upbringing in a conservative and rural part of Alabama. He described his hometown of Winfield as “the sort of place where you did not want to be the gay kid at school.”
Notably, he acknowledged his position as one of the few out athletes around the world, saying that there are "lots of people who are in this weird space" but that their decision not to be out "is kind of understood."
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