Raising the Bar

[William769]

Josh Dixon could make history as the first out male gymnast at the Olympics this summer. But no matter what happens, he's already stuck his landing.

When someone decides to come out to his family, he typically only has to do it once. But for an athlete, it may need to happen twice. That’s because an athlete’s teammates are the people he spends more time with—training, practicing, competing—and who often know him more intimately. So coming out to this second family can cause even more anxiety. Luckily, for 22-year-old Josh Dixon, an elite male gymnast who grew up in San Jose, Calif., and studied at Stanford University, he found easy acceptance.

“We’re from the Bay Area; this sort of stuff is totally normal,” he explains. “I had 18 close friends I could count on. I also got close to the girls team. It’s a small, tight-knit community.”

Unlike many other recent grads, Dixon didn’t have to worry what he would do post-college: He’s competing for one of the six spots on the U.S. men’s Olympic gymnastics team this week. If he makes it, he would also be the first openly gay gymnast to compete for the American team in its history.
On paper, Dixon would appear to have had a tough path to where he is today. He’s half-black and half-Japanese, and was adopted, along with his two sisters, by a mixed-race couple. But Dixon appears to be an amazingly well-adjusted guy.

http://www.out.com/entertainment/sports/2012/06/27/josh-dixon-gay-gymnast-olympics