Sun 12 Jan 2014 In: Hall of Fame View at Wayback View at NDHA
New Zealand speed skater Blake Skjellerup has appeared in CNN documentary Journey of the Gay Athlete, sharing his story of overcoming bullying and determinedly making it to the Winter Olympics. The Christchurch athlete started speed skating when he was 10, and says because it wasn’t considered a macho sport “I was called gay before I had figured out and even knew what it was myself … somehow my peers knew it before I did. I don’t think they really did, it was just that they imposed the fact that I did this ‘non-masculine’ sport speed skating, which let me tell you, is very masculine, is very dangerous.” Skjellerup says he was called “faggot, homo and gay boy on a daily occurrence”. While he was never physically bullied, he says scars on the inside can take longer to heal. It was when he was 16 or so that he started to realise he was gay. He found it hard not to have any out role models to look up to. “It’s quite a hard thing if you’re young and you’re in sports and you don’t have anybody that you can relate to on any level, because you just feel isolated and alone. And that’s definitely how I felt.” He concluded you couldn’t be gay, and be and athlete, or make it to the OIympics. He eventually made it to the Vancouver Winter Olympics where he represented New Zealand. A serious relationship he had when he was 24 was what inspired him to come out to his family, as he didn’t want to hide his boyfriend. When he told his sister, she said “that’s great”. The speed skater says when he came out to his family it was a massive weight off his shoulders. He had feared his family would disown him, based on other people he knew whose parents didn’t take it well. Skjellerup came out publicly in DNA Magazine in 2010, a story that travelled the globe. He says the support he received from strangers all over the world was encouraging and gave him the strength to keep going. He's been an outspoken advocate since, supporting lgbt youth in New Zealand, and appearing in media all over the world advocating for respect and equality, particulalry with the upcoming Winter Olympics in Sochi - as Russia is desecrating gay rights. Skjellerup is expecting to find out next week if he will make it to next month’s Winter Olympics in Sochi. After narrowly missing out on automatic qualifying, he is the first alternate for a spot at the games. (We are all crossing our fingers and toes!!!) The insightful CNN special also features gorgeous American soccer player Robbie Rogers and towering WNBA star Brittney Griner, sharing their stories, struggles and successes. Rogers came from a Catholic family and was afraid to come out, but eventually wrote an amazing letter telling the world who he was. While he initially retired from soccer though still incredibly young, he is now playing again by mass demand. Griner was bullied at school as she was trying to come to terms with her sexuality. She found comfort in books, realising there were many other people going through the same things in the world. She recalls coming out to her mum in ninth grade, and will forever remember her mother saying “’Ok’, like it wasn’t nothing, like I got an A on my report or something.” While her dad had a hard time with it initially, she says “he got over it”. Once she was out of university she made a point of coming out publicly, wanting to help lgbt kids by showing she was “out and fine”. This was met with criticism from some quarters, but she brushed it off. Journey of the Gay Athlete will screen again at 4PM today on CNN, and at midnight on Monday. Jacqui Stanford - 12th January 2014