Gangneung, South Korea • Adam Rippon paused. He doesn’t normally pause. But he did here. Days after taking these 2018 Olympic Winter Games by storm, helping U.S. figure skating earn bronze in the team event with a tantalizing performance in the men’s free skate, a Finnish journalist asked the 29-year-old for his advice to young athletes who may or may not be struggling with coming to terms with their sexuality.
“Being gay and being an athlete, it doesn’t f---ing matter,” he said. “It really doesn’t. Like, being an athlete, you need to go out there, you need to be strong, and I think sometimes people might not perceive gay men as not being strong or being fighters.