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At left, Australian diver Matthew Mitcham, the only openly gay man at this year's Olympics. In the above set clockwise from top are Tom Waddell, founder of the Gay Games, where athletes can be more open about their sexual orientation; Bruce Hayes, an Olympic gold medalist who came out after his swimming career ended; and Judith Arndt, a lesbian cyclist who's competing this year in Beijing. (All photos AP, except Bruce Hayes, a Blade file photo)
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HOME > ENTERTAINMENT > FEATURE
By: RYAN LEE COMMENTS
 
Bruce Hayes spun around to focus his eyes on the distant race clock, then ripped off his goggles and threw his left hand in the air as one of the ABC broadcasters calling the 1984 Olympics shouted, “He did it!”
Just one lap earlier, 27 seconds before the celebration began, the television announcers and most of the 15,000 people inside the University of Southern California swimming complex had little reason to hope that Hayes would be able to win a gold medal for the U.S. 4x200 meter relay team.
Hayes’s teammates had given him a 1.5 second lead over the team from West Germany, but much of that advantage was nullified just after Hayes entered the pool for the final leg.
The anchor for the West German team, Michael Gross, was the most dominant swimmer of the 1984 Olympics, and was nicknamed “the Albatross” because of his height and wingspan. Gross gobbled up the American lead during the first three laps of the anchor leg and pulled ahead of Hayes as the two swimmers did their final flip turns and sprinted the last 50 meters of the race.
Despite Hayes’ shorter strokes, he used a racing technique common in swimming, cross-country and NASCAR — drafting — which allowed him to pull even with Gross with half lap remaining.
The two competitors went stroke-for-stroke during the final 25 meters as the crowd went wild and the television announcers screamed about witnessing “one of the greatest relay races in Olympics history.”
Hayes, whose final lap was the fastest split by any swimmer in the race, surged ahead in the last few strokes and edged Gross and the West Germans for the gold by .04 seconds.
Hayes celebrated in the water as his relay teammates were jubilant on the pool deck, each pausing to reach down into the pool and clinch Hayes’ fist.
“What a remarkable accomplishment for a young man who may be this nation’s best all around freestyle swimmer,” the ABC announcer said as the celebration continued.
The 4x200 meter freestyle relay at the 1984 Olympics has been dubbed “the perfect race” by swimming aficionados. Just a year after that race, “the nation’s best all around freestyle swimmer” was 22 years old and in peak physical condition — and ready to walk away from competitive swimming for good.
“I feel like I had a great Olympic experience, but I definitely feel that I wasn’t entirely comfortable in that environment,” Hayes said.
Hayes may have conquered “the Albatross” in the pool, but he continued to be burdened by a different kind of albatross within the swimming world — being gay.
“I think I had the same kind of fears that anyone coming out has, particularly since it was 24 years ago, but I think the environment actually made it worse,” Hayes said. “When you’re in an athletic environment, when you live in that environment year-round, there’s just not a comfort level of coming out and sharing that kind of information with people.”
Hayes never encountered any outright hostility from coaches and teammates within USA Swimming, but the high-pressure atmosphere and tunnel vision of Olympic training didn’t allow space for Hayes to deal with his personal struggles.
“It wasn’t like they were homophobic, but they just weren’t sensitized to it,” Hayes said. “I wouldn’t say there was any kind of sensitivity to the fact that one of their athletes might be gay.”
Even the triumph of winning an Olympic gold medal couldn’t settle the discontent within Hayes, and a year after his stunning victory over the West Germans, he retired from swimming.
“I think I would’ve continued had I felt comfortable being myself, but I didn’t, and I really kind of felt like I had to give up swimming to come out,” Hayes said. “I don’t know if it was a conscious choice, even; but now when I look back and wonder why I didn’t go forward, that was definitely one of the reasons, in the back of my mind.”
More than two-dozen former Olympians have come out as gay or lesbian, although most did so after retiring. Three openly gay athletes are competing in the Beijing Olympics, but none are representing the United States.
Two lesbian athletes from Germany — cyclist Judith Arndt and fencer Imke Duplitzer — are returning to the Olympics after previous performances, while 20-year-old Australian diver Matthew Mitcham is making his Olympic debut.
The International Olympic Committee has become more welcoming of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender athletes in recent years, including allowing post-operative transgender athletes to compete for the first time during the ...
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