SportsNews
World Olympic legend, Ian Thorpe reveals regret about coming out as gay late
World Olympic legend, Ian Thorpe has shared the reason he didn’t want to come out as gay during the height of his swimming career.
The Olympian, 41, who came out in 2014. told The Daily Telegraph on Tuesday that he kept his sexuality hidden because he didn’t want any ‘distractions’ from his sporting career in the early 2000s.
‘I had to swim in the Olympics and had to win. I did not want anything to be a distraction for me. I don’t want people talking about this,’ he said.

Ian Thorpe
‘So every time it is alluded you may be gay, you’re thinking of it as a negative thing and as a young person you make it bigger than it needs to be. So I answered no.’
Thorpe then said he regretted concealing his sexuality for so long because it made the process of coming out feel much more confronting.
‘I’m comfortable saying I’m a gay man. And I don’t want people to feel the same way I did. You can grow up, you can be comfortable and you can be gay.’
The five-time Olympic gold medalist came out as gay during an interview with respected English television presenter Sir Michael Parkinson in July 2014.
The athlete later revealed during an episode of This Is Your Life in 2022 that he decided to speak out about his sexuality because he was finally ‘comfortable’.
‘I was always doing this interview with Sir Michael Parkinson. I had just come out to my family and to my very very closest friends,’ Ian told host Melissa Doyle.
‘I had spent some time with [Sir Michael Parkinson] before the interview and told him, “You should ask me if I’m gay because I’m going to tell you I am”.’
Ian continued: ‘I needed to say it. It was the first time I felt I was comfortable enough to put myself out there. It was important for me to be my authentic self.’
At the time, the athlete declared: ‘I’ve thought about this for a long time. I’m not straight. And this is only something that very recently – in the past two weeks – I’ve been comfortable telling the closest people around me exactly that.’
The Sydney native was first asked about his sexuality at 16 years old and said he didn’t know at that stage but ‘was still gay at the end of the day.’
‘Yes, I lied about it. I’m now comfortable saying I’m a gay man.’
He also said he wished he’d come out earlier as his family and friends were supportive of him.
SportsNews
EPL: Fulham must move on from defeat to Manchester City — Iwobi
Alex Iwobi says Fulham must stay positive despite their 5-4 defeat to Manchester City at Craven Cottage on Tuesday.
Marco Silva’s side put up a spirited display in the encounter, and were unlucky not to get at least one point.
Iwobi started the fight back by scoring the second goal for Fulham early in the second half.
The versatile midfielder’s compatriot, Samuel Chukwueze then rose from the bench to score two more goals for the Cottagers.
Manchester City, however, held on to go home with maximum points.
Iwobi stated that they deserved more from the game.
“I feel disappointed because we didn’t get anything out of the fighting spirit that we showed, but I think we have to take the positivity from the game,” Iwobi told the club’s official website.
Fulham will be away to Crystal Palace in their next Premier League game on Sunday.
SportsNews
EPL: Guardiola names team that impresses him everyday
Manchester City boss, Pep Guardiola has named the Premier League club that has impressed him so much this season.
The Spaniard said that Enzo Maresca’s side have really impressed him with the improvement they make everyday.
Speaking after Manchester City beat Fulham 5-4 in the Premier League on Tuesday night, Guardiola pointed out that a team must remain consistent to win the title.
Pep Guardiola’s side closed the gap at the top of the Premier League to just two points behind Arsenal with the victory over Fulham, but the Gunners could maintain their five points lead with a win over Brentford on Wednesday night.
“Chelsea impresses me more and more every day with Enzo [Maresca], but it’s long,” he told reporters after the win.
“Premier League is so long, many things will happen. We won six Premier Leagues, four or five when we in December, January or February we were behind.
“The team who wins the Premier League is the team who grows during the months and this is what we try to do. No injuries, it’s so long.
“But at the same time, if we push, we will be better and push ourselves and control the situations better, the emotions and we will see what happens.”
SportsNews
Outrage As ‘Biological Male’ Wins World’s Strongest Woman Event in Texas (Photos)
The 2025 World’s Strongest Woman final has sparked outrage after an alleged transgender athlete won gold.
American Jammie Booker, who is accused of being a biological male, beat Great Britain’s Andrea Thompson to victory at the event in Arlington, Texas.
According to Mail Online, Thompson walked off the podium, appearing to say ‘this is bulls***,’ while Booker celebrated. The Brit has since been crowned the ‘true World’s Strongest Woman’ by her coach and some of her peers.

Rebecca Roberts, a three-time winner of World’s Strongest Woman, has sensationally claimed that no one – not even the organizers – knew about Booker’s background.
Details on the American are not clear, but the publication sighted a YouTube video – uploaded to what appears to be Booker’s YouTube channel in September 2017, with Booker saying: ‘Everyone is dying to tell their own story and I am obviously no exception to that.
‘I’m 21-year-old trans woman with a history of abuse, struggling to stay true to herself while under the rule of her religious parents.’
On Monday night, Roberts posted a picture on Instagram that read ‘Protect Women’s Sports.’ She wrote alongside the picture: ‘I hold no hate toward transgender people. Everyone deserves dignity, respect, and the freedom to live their truth.

But I cannot stay silent about something that threatens the fairness and future of women’s strength sports. Transgender women, people born male, should not be competing in the women’s category.
This isn’t about identity. It isn’t about politics. It’s about the undeniable physical differences that exist in strength-based sports… differences that don’t disappear, and that matter more here than almost anywhere else. Women’s categories were created for a reason, and if we lose that, we lose the foundation of our sport.
‘What happened this weekend wasn’t transparent. None of us knew. Not even the organisers knew. And when fairness is taken by surprise, trust in the sport begins to crack.
‘My message is simple. Trans people belong in sport, but women’s divisions must remain biologically born female-only.
‘I love this sport. I have given my life to it. And I won’t ignore something that could quietly change it forever. Congratulations to @andreathompson_strongwoman… the true World’s Strongest Woman 2025’
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