Skjellerup in action for NZ (file photo) Inspiring gay athlete Blake Skjellerup has whizzed his way to the 2010 New Zealand Senior Speed Skating title. He has written on Twitter this morning "I am the 2010 New Zealand Senior Speed Skating Champion! First competition on home soil since 2006. Even broke a New Zealand record!" Skjellerup is based in Canada and returned home for the competition, which is being held in Dunedin. Yesterday the Winter Olympian was the subject of an Otago Daily Times story, where he discussed coming out in the sports world, saying he hoped his story would help other gay men and women have the courage to be themselves. "Growing up it [coming out] was something I always thought I would want to do ... Just to share my story with other people. And since I've come out I've had a lot of encouraging support from other gay athletes and other members of the community. "It has been all positive. I haven't had any negative response from anybody." Since he revealed he was gay in May, Skjellerup has been a vocal advocate for gay rights, even posing in a picture with tape over his mouth with the anti Proposition 8 NOH8 campaign.
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Sunday, 19th September 2010 - 10:02am