PYEONGCHANG, South Korea (AP) — Forget about the bobbled runs, the broken thumb, the searing pain in his hip and, yes, even the unforgiving scoreboard that showed Gus Kenworthy finishing in last place at the Olympics.
PYEONGCHANG, South Korea (AP) — Forget about the bobbled runs, the broken thumb, the searing pain in his hip and, yes, even the unforgiving scoreboard that showed Gus Kenworthy finishing in last place at the Olympics.
The day began with a kiss .
For Kenworthy and his ever-growing legion of fans, that was a victory no gold medal will ever replace.
Before the start of the Olympic ski slopestyle contest Sunday — a contest won by Norway’s Oystein Braaten with American Nick Goepper coming in second — social media went wild with a screen grab of NBC showing Kenworthy sharing a tender moment with his boyfriend, Matt Wilkas, at the bottom of the hill.
It was nothing complicated.
It was Wilkas, in his red-white-and-blue stocking cap, kissing Kenworthy, who had lowered his facemask to lean in for a quick smooch before heading up the lift.
It couldn’t have been too unexpected. In Kenworthy’s mind, it was well overdue.
In the days following the last Olympics, before the world knew he was gay and his claim to fame was saving stray dogs and bringing them home from Russia, he struggled with himself for not making that moment happen during his silver-medal celebration. Deep down, he knew he wasn’t ready, and that the world probably wasn’t, either.
Two years after Sochi, he came out.
Four years after Sochi, he was happy to say he flipped that script.
«It’s something I was too scared to do for myself,» Kenworthy said. «To be able to do that, to give him a kiss, to have that affection broadcast to the world, is incredible. The only way to really change perceptions, to break down barriers, break down homophobia, is through representation.
