About Matthew Mitcham:
Matthew Mitcham, born March 2, 1988 in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, is an openly gay Olympic diver. He is the 2008 champion in the Men's 10m Platform Final diving event, winning gold in an upset at the Beijing Olympics. He received the highest single-dive score in Olympic history and earned Australia its first Olympic diving medal since 1924. Mitcham was a World Junior Champion trampoline gymnast before being discovered by diving coach Wang Tong Xiang.
The Only Gay Man At The Beijing Olympics:
Matthew Mitcham was the only openly gay man at the 2008 Summer Olympic games in Beijing, China out of 11,028 athletes from 204 countries and becomes the second openly gay Olympic diver to win gold behind Greg Louganis, who came out after the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul. Mitcham came out prior the 2008 Olympics in a May 25th interview with the Sydney Morning Herald. Mitcham's partner Lachlan Fletcher watched his winning dive from the stands. His trip was sponsored by Johnson & Johnson's Athlete Family Support Program.
Mitcham's Win Over Depression:
Matthew Mitcham didn't just make a comeback at the 2008 Summer Games; he's battled with depression for some time. He spent a brief time on medication for his depression and retired from diving as a teenager. He began training again nine months later and is now the 2008 Men's 10m Platform Diving event champion.
Mitcham's Winning Dives:
Matthew Mitcham was in 9th place after the first round of the final competition, needing 107.30 points to overtake first. China's Zhou Luxin, the event favorite, led the competition until the last round, when he missed his final dive with low 6's and 7's. Mitcham came from behind to prevent the Chinese from sweeping all of the Olympic diving events. Matthew's last dive, a back 2 1/2 somersault with 2 1/2 twists, carrying a 3.8 degree of difficulty, earned him four 10s and 112.10 points for the gold.
