Pictured Matthew Cusick.
The image of a gymnast is perhaps the height of aesthetic beauty. With symmetrical, muscular bodies flying gracefully through space, understandably, the sport has many gay fans.
Yet only a few athletes in the sport have come out; to date, no female gymnasts or Olympians have. In 2001, Brandon Triche, a former member of Southern Connecticut State University's team, came out in a few gay publications while competing. But an ankle injury in his senior year precluded his further competition.
Graham Ackerman, who won floor and vault at the NCAA Championships this year, and came in second on high bar, was prominently featured in the August 2004 issue of Instinct magazine. He competes with Cal Berkeley's men's gymnastics team.
'A lot of people consider gymnastics one of the gay sports, but there isn't a ton of gay people that do it,' Ackerman said in the article. After coming out to his teammates, he said, 'I knew I had to be accepted for who I was, but at the same time, I didn't want to burn any bridges or cause any kind of weird dynamic.'
But among all other male current former NCAA gymnasts or Olympians, no others have come out.
The most prominent out gay gymnast is Matthew Cusick—but that's due to his abrupt dismissal last year from Cirque du Soleil, and the federal discrimination complaint that followed, spearheaded by Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund (LLDEF). The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission attested that Cirque du Soleil did discriminate against Cusick because he is HIV-positive. In April 2004, Cusick and LLDEF won an unprecedented $600,000 settlement with Cirque after the EEOC judgment.
'I started at five years old in a tumbling class, and I loved it,' Cusick told me of his lifelong devotion to the sport. 'I competed in gymnastics and started coaching at age 16.' He coached for 15 years, and recently joined the AntiGravity Dance Company. Cusick also performed in the AIDS fundraiser Broadway Bares 14, as well as with Dancers Responding to AIDS.
Cusick says he thinks that gay men in gymnastics feel scared to come out. 'Because the sport is very artistic, people look at it as not so macho to do,' and make assumptions about gymnasts' sexuality. Russian gymnast Alexi Nemov—despite now being a married father—became the subject of gay rumors, simply because he frequently hugs and kisses teammates and coaches at competitions.
Do other gymnasts overcompensate for such assumptions? 'Chris' (a pseudonym) was nationally ranked with 'all the big boys in the sport,' including gymnasts on the last three American Olympic teams.
'It's very far from a gay sport,' he says. 'All my teammates in college were straight. I was the only gay one on my team.' He mentioned one former Olympic gymnast that he knows is gay, but in 'an arranged marriage.'
Chris recalls the competition and training as tough, memorable, and fulfilling. But as to gymnastics being a sport at the Gay Games, 'It will never happen,' he says, adding that there are too few accomplished athletes in the sport, which is losing college programs. 'You'll never find people to come out and openly compete in a gay event.'
Adult interest is marginal, and age plays a factor. 'I still look good, but trying to make my body do the things I used to do on a daily basis would be impossible,' Chris says.
Support for younger gays may come from out gay instructors. Born and raised in Lisbon, Portugal, Jose Coquenao lives in New York City and teaches gymnastics to children and teenagers at his fitness center.
Coquenao first started in acrobatics, then moved to trampolines, and later, was invited to join the Artistic Gymnastics team. As part of the team, he won a bronze in Germany. He also choreographed for the girls' Artistic and Rhythmic Gymnastics teams.
'Parents see me as a role model,' says Coquenao. 'I do not hide my sexuality ... . When I teach, I look at the kids and see what they have in their hearts. I allow them to be themselves with what makes them happy, through gymnastics.'
He says his parents were 'very supportive, because [gymnastics] kept me focused and off the streets. ... Gymnastics gave me a very strong sense of body awareness in space. I became in tune with my body and its needs, which gave me the opportunity to learn how to respect and listen to my body.'
Despite the efforts of a few, gymnastics has yet to be included at any large-scale gay sports event. Coquenao maintains an optimistic outlook on gymnastics' inclusion at a future Gay Games. 'There are a lot of ways to make it a group/team event,' he says. 'It all depends on how you write the rules ... .'
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