Matthew Mitcham Returns A Hero

Local News, By Tim D, 9th October, 2008

Matthew Mitcham left Sydney an unknown nervous diver with big dreams. He returned to Australia this week as one of the most well as the most well-known athletes from the Beijing Olympics.

He also returns with mixed feelings, saying that he is proud, but sad, at being the only openly gay male Olympian at the 2008 games.

After taking a few weeks off to travel through Italy with his boyfriend Lachlan, Mitcham held a press conference this week to come to terms with his new found fame around the world.

Last night Mitcham took out the prestigious Don Award at the Sport Australia Hall of Fame dinner. Named after Don Bradman, Mitcham was nominated alongside Stephanie Rice and triathlete Emma Snowsill, and tied for the award with pole vaulter Steve Hooker.

Mitcham’s record breaking dive in Beijing meant that he was the only Australian athlete to appear on the front cover of the China Daily’s Olympic liftout.

His new manager, David Flaskas, said Asia was a sponsorship target for Mitcham. “We have done a fair bit in Asia with Thorpey [Ian Thorpe] and Leisel [Jones] and it makes sense that Matthew has some opportunities there,” he said.

His newfound celebrity is something that’s been weighing on his mind, even when he was in Italy. “I got recognised a bit and I thought, ‘If I get recognised in Rome, imagine what it’s like in Sydney’,” he said. On the way to the press conference, he found out. “Walking on the way here, we overheard some girls who’d just walked past saying, ‘Is that the diving guy?’. And I was like, ‘Did she just say that?’.”

Mitcham talked about how nervous he feels when he watches footage from that fateful dive. “I know what happens at the end but I’m still there rocking, going, ‘c’mon, c’mon’,” he said. “How did I produce it at the time? I don’t know. I had to keep saying to myself over and over, ‘Just enjoy it, you’re here to have fun’. That kept the stress levels down.”

As for the gay thing, Mitcham says he has mixed feelings about it. “It’s a little bit sad because, statistically, there should be a lot more. But I’m proud to be there and proud to be that one that lots of other people can look up to,” he said. “I believe I can be a role model.”

And we do too, Matt.

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