Olympic gold medalist Ian Thorpe has come out as a gay man.
The Australian swimmer, who has won five Gold medals at the Olympics, revealed that he was "not straight" during an interview with Sir Michael Parkinson on Channel 10 on Sunday. Thrope's decision to come out has reportedly ended "years of speculation about his sexuality," according to the Associated Press.
"I've thought about this for a long time. I'm not straight," the 31-year-old athlete said. "And this is only something that very recently, we're talking the past two weeks, I've been comfortable telling the closest people around me, exactly that. I've wanted to [come out] for some time but I couldn't, I didn't feel as though I could. What happened was I felt the lie had become so big that I didn't want people to question my integrity."
Thorpe denied he was gay in his 2012 autobiography "This Is Me," writing in the book, "For the record, I am not gay and all my sexual experiences have been straight. I'm attracted to women; I love children and aspire to have a family one day."
As teenager, Thorpe was asked about his sexuality by journalists and was forced to form a "defensive attitude toward the issue," the AP reported. The athlete said he felt ashamed for not coming out earlier, but added that at the time he did not have the courage and he did not want to risk his career.
"I was asked at such a young age about my sexuality," Thorpe said during the interview. "I felt that the lie had become so big that I didn't want people to question my integrity and I didn't want people to think that I had lied about everything. I was already living somewhat of a lie in my life because I was trying to be what I thought was the right athlete by other people's standards."
He admitted to being scared of failing his family and nation, adding that he wasn't sure "if Australia wanted its champion to be gay."
Thorpe continued: "I am telling not only Australia, I'm telling the world that I am, and I hope this makes it easier for others now. 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 interview covered Thorpe's issues with drug and alcohol that landed him in rehab. Thorpe's announcement has been applauded by several public figures, including Ricky Martin and Jason Collins - both of whom have come out as gay men.
