DENVER (AP) – When Gus Kenworthy would let his mind wander into how his perfect Olympics might play out, he pictured a certain scene.
He’d land his best tricks on his final run, win a medal and then – the capper – jump into the stands, ski boots and all, to share a big hug and kiss with the man who meant so much to him.
“That would’ve been an amazing way to come out,” said Kenworthy, the freestyle skier who won the silver medal in Sochi.
But the timing, to say nothing of the country, wasn’t quite right to tell the world he was gay. And so Kenworthy left Russia in February 2014 known best as the compassionate daredevil who adopted several stray dogs he came across in the mountains – and as the man who was part of an historic U.S. sweep of the first Olympic ski slopestyle contest.
Because he wasn’t ready, the journey to Sochi was far less perfect than it could’ve been for the 24-year-old from Telluride, Colorado, who on Thursday, in interviews with The Associated Press and ESPN The Magazine, revealed to the public that he is gay.