Donovan Carrillo made history Tuesday, Feb. 8, for becoming the first Mexican figure skater in 30 years to compete in the Winter Olympics.
“Dreams do come true,” he said following his debut at the men’s short program competition.
The milestone comes after going viral on social media in 2016 when performing a Juan Gabriel song. At the time, the figure skater faced backlash for not being “manly” enough, with people labeling his performance as “gay.”
“It’s infuriating that people see the word ‘gay’ as an insult to my effort,” he said.
In addition to the discrimination, Carillo struggled to find a proper stadium in which to perform.