French athlete Dimitri Pavadé, who represented his home country at this year’s Paralympics in Paris, has come out as gay following his fourth-place finish in the men’s long jump.
Pavadé, who won a silver medal at the 2020 Tokyo Games, returned to the men’s long jump T64 classification final, where he was just .06 metres short of winning a bronze medal.
On Saturday, September 7 he took to Instagram and shared a photo of himself smiling while holding rainbow-coloured interlocking male gender symbols in a nod to announcing his coming out in the post’s caption.
“Another fight awaits me now, and I was impatiently waiting for this moment. Here I am today, ready once again to face, overcome and move forward without taking into account what others may say or think of me,” wrote Pavadé.
He continued, “Yes, I am SMALL, MIXED-RACE, ONE-LEGGED, and to add another layer, GAY!!!!!! The person I am, and like others, have never had to make a choice, so stop with your pitiful speeches and your judgments without reasoning because you will never change the world.”
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Elsewhere in his Instagram announcement, Pavadé said he wants to “be the icon of people with disabilities” and be a leader in the LGBTQ+ community.
He also shared that he hopes to give “strength and courage” to those who have yet to go public with their identity, along with athletes who don’t live “openly and freely.”
“Disability is not meant to be hidden or ashamed of, the same goes for your sexual orientation,” Pavadé wrote.
“So embrace yourself as you are and remember that you are not alone, life is extremely short and so many beautiful things are offered to us that we cannot deprive ourselves of them.”
Pavadé is one of five male athletes at the Paris Paralympics who are out, according to Outsports.
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