Matthew Mitcham
Encyclopedia
Matthew Mitcham, is an Australian diver
. He is the 2008 Olympic champion in the 10 m platform
, having received the highest single-dive score in Olympic history. He is the first Australian male to win an Olympic gold medal in diving since Dick Eve
at the 1924 Summer Olympics
, and one of few openly
gay
athletes at the 2008 Summer Olympics
.
Diving Program, while at the Chandler Aquatic Centre in Brisbane's suburbs, and Mitcham continued with both diving and trampolining for several years.
As a trampolinist, Mitcham represented Australia at the World Junior Championships in 1999 and 2001, winning the double mini-tramp event. He also competed at the Australian Youth Olympic Festival in 2003, finishing sixth.
From 2002 through 2004, Mitcham was a national junior champion in diving, winning the events in which he competed. Mitcham competed at the 2002 World Junior Diving Championships, where he placed 11th in the 1 metre springboard, 5th in the 3 m and 16th in the 10 m platform. In 2004, he won the silver medals in the 1 m, 3 m synchronised, and 10 m platform events at the World Junior Championships. At the 2004 Junior Nationals, he won the 1 m, 3 m, and 10 m and 3 m synchro titles. At the 2004 Olympic Trials, he placed 3rd on the 3 m and 10 m individual events, 2nd on the 3 m and 10 m synchro events, and did not qualify for the Olympic team. In 2005, Mitcham won his first senior national title. He competed at the Australian Olympic Youth Festival, where he won the silver medal in the 1 m with a score of 508.35, and won the 3 m, 10 m and 3 m synchro (with Scott Robertson
) titles with scores of 565, 555.8, and 316.23 respectively. At the 2005 World Aquatics Championships
in Montreal, he placed 12th on the 10 m platform with a score of 560.73.
In 2006, Mitcham competed in the German Grand Prix event, placing 16th on the 3 m and 6th on the 10 m, and at the US Grand Prix at Fort Lauderdale, placing 8th on the 3m springboard. At the Canada Cup he placed 26th on the 3 m and won the bronze medal on the 10 m platform. He represented Australia at the 2006 Commonwealth Games
, where he competed in the 1 m, 3 m, and 10 m events. He placed 4th in the 3 m and the 3 m synchro with Robertson, and 5th on the 1 m and 10 m events.
Taking a break from the sport in 2006, he returned in 2007 and started to train under current coach Chava Sobrino at the New South Wales Institute of Sport. In 2008 Mitcham won the 1 m, 3 m and 10 m individual events at the Australian Nationals. Later that year he won the 2008 Diving Grand Prix event in Fort Lauderdale, Florida
.
Mitcham represented Australia at the 2008 Summer Olympics
in the 10 m platform and the 3 m springboard events. He placed 16th on the 3 m springboard and did not qualify for the final. He qualified in second position for the semi-final and final of the 10 m platform event. After experiencing mixed success in his first five dives in the final, Mitcham entered the final round of dives in second place, 34 points behind Chinese diver Zhou Lüxin
. After Zhou performed his worst dive of the final and scored 74.80, Mitcham still needed to score 107.30, a very high score on the platform, to win the gold. However, his near-perfect final dive drew four perfect 10 scores from judges and achieved a score of 112.10, the highest single-dive score in Olympic history. He finished with an overall score of 537.95 to defeat Zhou, who finished with an overall score of 533.15, to win Australia's second diving medal of the Games. His win prevented China from claiming a clean-sweep of all diving gold medals at the Olympic Games. He is the first Australian male to win an Olympic gold medal in diving since Dick Eve
in 1924.
Mitcham's medal was followed by the Australia Post issuing a 50 cent stamp of him. His stamp was issued on 26 September 2008, one day after his victory.
, Mitcham placed fourth in his next major contest on the 10 metre platform, the 2009 World Aquatics Championships
in Rome. He was beaten narrowly by Zhou Lüxin
, the Chinese diver he'd beaten in the Olympics final, while British youngster Tom Daley
took home the championship.
At the 2010 Commonwealth Games
, Mitcham won four silver medals, partnering fellow Australian diver Ethan Warren to come runner-up in the synchronized events in both the 3 and 10 metre. In the 1 metre springboard final he lost to Canadian Alexandre Despatie
. In his specialist event, the 10 metre platform, he again lost to Tom Daley
.
Mitcham was born in Brisbane
but lives and trains in Sydney. He publicly came out
as gay in 2008 to the Sydney Morning Herald when they were profiling Olympic hopefuls. During the 2008 Beijing Olympics, he was also featured on the cover of the international gay publication The Advocate
in August 2008 and March 2009, as well as the cover of Australian gay publication DNA
. Mitcham's boyfriend, Lachlan Fletcher, attended the 2008 Summer Olympic Games as a spectator. His trip was sponsored by a grant from Johnson & Johnson
's Athlete Family Support Program.
Mitcham gained media coverage in Australia as reporters thought he was the first Australian to compete at the Olympic Games
as an openly gay
man at the time of his competition. However, Mathew Helm
, the Australian diver who won the silver medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics in the men's 10m platform, had publicly announced he was gay before the Olympics began. Other notable gay Australian Olympians include Ji Wallace
, who competed at the 2000 Summer Olympics
and won a silver medal in the inaugural trampoline
event; however, he came out after the Games.
Prior to his 10m platform win, Mitcham was reported to be one of only eleven openly gay athletes competing in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, out of 11,028 athletes from 204 countries.
Mitcham has said when asked to comment on his coming out: "I don’t see sexuality as influencing my beliefs or opinions or perceptions of anybody, whether they’re gay, straight, bi, trans, experimental, I don’t care. I see it as a very uninfluential factor in people." Mitcham has said that after the Beijing Olympics, he received many letters from gay teenagers, "and that was really nice, really humbling".
In 2009 and 2010, Mitcham was selected by readers of samesame.com.au as one of the 25 most influential gay Australians.
.
In March 2010, Matthew Mitcham was announced as the new face of Funky Trunks
. He will appear on advertising campaigns across Australia, Europe and the United States as the brand rapidly expands into international markets. He is also a spokesman and "swimwear ambassador" for the brand.
Diving
Diving is the sport of jumping or falling into water from a platform or springboard, sometimes while performing acrobatics. Diving is an internationally-recognized sport that is part of the Olympic Games. In addition, unstructured and non-competitive diving is a recreational pastime.Diving is one...
. He is the 2008 Olympic champion in the 10 m platform
Diving at the 2008 Summer Olympics
Diving competitions at the Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics were held from August 10 to August 23, at the Beijing National Aquatics Centre.- Competition format :The following events were contested by both men and women in Beijing:...
, having received the highest single-dive score in Olympic history. He is the first Australian male to win an Olympic gold medal in diving since Dick Eve
Dick Eve
Richmond Cavill "Dick" Eve was an Australian diver who competed in the 1924 Summer Olympics.In 1924 he won the gold medal in the plain high diving competition. He also competed in the 3 metre springboard event and finished fifth.-External links:**...
at the 1924 Summer Olympics
1924 Summer Olympics
The 1924 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the VIII Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was celebrated in 1924 in Paris, France...
, and one of few openly
Coming out
Coming out is a figure of speech for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people's disclosure of their sexual orientation and/or gender identity....
gay
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
athletes at the 2008 Summer Olympics
2008 Summer Olympics
The 2008 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, was a major international multi-sport event that took place in Beijing, China, from August 8 to August 24, 2008. A total of 11,028 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees competed in 28 sports and 302 events...
.
Career
Mitcham originally competed as a trampoline gymnast. He was spotted by Wang Tong Xiang, who is a coach at the Australian Institute of SportAustralian Institute of Sport
The Australian Institute of Sport is a sports training institution in Australia with world class facilities and support services. The Institute's headquarters is situated in Canberra, the capital city of Australia. The 66.0 hectare site campus is in the northern suburb of Bruce, but some of the...
Diving Program, while at the Chandler Aquatic Centre in Brisbane's suburbs, and Mitcham continued with both diving and trampolining for several years.
As a trampolinist, Mitcham represented Australia at the World Junior Championships in 1999 and 2001, winning the double mini-tramp event. He also competed at the Australian Youth Olympic Festival in 2003, finishing sixth.
From 2002 through 2004, Mitcham was a national junior champion in diving, winning the events in which he competed. Mitcham competed at the 2002 World Junior Diving Championships, where he placed 11th in the 1 metre springboard, 5th in the 3 m and 16th in the 10 m platform. In 2004, he won the silver medals in the 1 m, 3 m synchronised, and 10 m platform events at the World Junior Championships. At the 2004 Junior Nationals, he won the 1 m, 3 m, and 10 m and 3 m synchro titles. At the 2004 Olympic Trials, he placed 3rd on the 3 m and 10 m individual events, 2nd on the 3 m and 10 m synchro events, and did not qualify for the Olympic team. In 2005, Mitcham won his first senior national title. He competed at the Australian Olympic Youth Festival, where he won the silver medal in the 1 m with a score of 508.35, and won the 3 m, 10 m and 3 m synchro (with Scott Robertson
Scott Robertson (diver)
Scott Robertson is an Australian diver. He has been named Male Diver of the Year at the 2007 Australian Open Diving Championships and has placed in the top ten of several international events.-References:...
) titles with scores of 565, 555.8, and 316.23 respectively. At the 2005 World Aquatics Championships
2005 World Aquatics Championships
The 2005 World Aquatics Championships or the XI FINA World Championships were held in Montreal, Quebec, Canada from July 16 to July 31, 2005...
in Montreal, he placed 12th on the 10 m platform with a score of 560.73.
In 2006, Mitcham competed in the German Grand Prix event, placing 16th on the 3 m and 6th on the 10 m, and at the US Grand Prix at Fort Lauderdale, placing 8th on the 3m springboard. At the Canada Cup he placed 26th on the 3 m and won the bronze medal on the 10 m platform. He represented Australia at the 2006 Commonwealth Games
Australia at the 2006 Commonwealth Games
Australia at the 2006 Commonwealth Games was represented by Australian Commonwealth Games Association the , and abbreviated AUS. Athletes from Australia were given automatic qualification in all sports due to the host status....
, where he competed in the 1 m, 3 m, and 10 m events. He placed 4th in the 3 m and the 3 m synchro with Robertson, and 5th on the 1 m and 10 m events.
Taking a break from the sport in 2006, he returned in 2007 and started to train under current coach Chava Sobrino at the New South Wales Institute of Sport. In 2008 Mitcham won the 1 m, 3 m and 10 m individual events at the Australian Nationals. Later that year he won the 2008 Diving Grand Prix event in Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Fort Lauderdale is a city in the U.S. state of Florida, on the Atlantic coast. It is the county seat of Broward County. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 165,521. It is a principal city of the South Florida metropolitan area, which was home to 5,564,635 people at the 2010...
.
2008 Summer Olympics
Australia at the 2008 Summer Olympics
A total of 433 competitors competed for Australia at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. The team was Australia's second largest away team after the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, which included a team of 482 competitors...
in the 10 m platform and the 3 m springboard events. He placed 16th on the 3 m springboard and did not qualify for the final. He qualified in second position for the semi-final and final of the 10 m platform event. After experiencing mixed success in his first five dives in the final, Mitcham entered the final round of dives in second place, 34 points behind Chinese diver Zhou Lüxin
Zhou Lüxin
Zhou Lüxin is a Chinese diver. He competed for Team China at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.-Major achievements:He claimed the gold medal at the 2006 World Cup - 10m platform synchro event. He also won the silver medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics - 10m platform event...
. After Zhou performed his worst dive of the final and scored 74.80, Mitcham still needed to score 107.30, a very high score on the platform, to win the gold. However, his near-perfect final dive drew four perfect 10 scores from judges and achieved a score of 112.10, the highest single-dive score in Olympic history. He finished with an overall score of 537.95 to defeat Zhou, who finished with an overall score of 533.15, to win Australia's second diving medal of the Games. His win prevented China from claiming a clean-sweep of all diving gold medals at the Olympic Games. He is the first Australian male to win an Olympic gold medal in diving since Dick Eve
Dick Eve
Richmond Cavill "Dick" Eve was an Australian diver who competed in the 1924 Summer Olympics.In 1924 he won the gold medal in the plain high diving competition. He also competed in the 3 metre springboard event and finished fifth.-External links:**...
in 1924.
Mitcham's medal was followed by the Australia Post issuing a 50 cent stamp of him. His stamp was issued on 26 September 2008, one day after his victory.
2009 and Beyond
Following his victory at the 2008 Summer Olympics2008 Summer Olympics
The 2008 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, was a major international multi-sport event that took place in Beijing, China, from August 8 to August 24, 2008. A total of 11,028 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees competed in 28 sports and 302 events...
, Mitcham placed fourth in his next major contest on the 10 metre platform, the 2009 World Aquatics Championships
Diving at the 2009 World Aquatics Championships – Men's 10 m synchro platform
-Results:Green denotes finalists-External links:**...
in Rome. He was beaten narrowly by Zhou Lüxin
Zhou Lüxin
Zhou Lüxin is a Chinese diver. He competed for Team China at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.-Major achievements:He claimed the gold medal at the 2006 World Cup - 10m platform synchro event. He also won the silver medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics - 10m platform event...
, the Chinese diver he'd beaten in the Olympics final, while British youngster Tom Daley
Tom Daley (diver)
Thomas Robert "Tom" Daley is an English diver who specialises in the 10 metre platform event and was the 2009 FINA World Champion in the individual event at the age of 15. He started diving at the age of seven and is a member of Plymouth Diving Club. He has made an impact in national and...
took home the championship.
At the 2010 Commonwealth Games
Aquatics at the 2010 Commonwealth Games
The aquatics events at the 2010 Commonwealth Games took place at the SPM Swimming Pool Complex, Talkatora Gardens, Delhi from 4–13 October 2010...
, Mitcham won four silver medals, partnering fellow Australian diver Ethan Warren to come runner-up in the synchronized events in both the 3 and 10 metre. In the 1 metre springboard final he lost to Canadian Alexandre Despatie
Alexandre Despatie
Alexandre Despatie is a Canadian diver from Laval, Quebec. He was the World champion at the 1 and 3 m springboards from 2005 to 2007 and is the first, and so far only, diver to have been World champion in the three categories . He is also a 36-time Canadian senior diving champion...
. In his specialist event, the 10 metre platform, he again lost to Tom Daley
Tom Daley (diver)
Thomas Robert "Tom" Daley is an English diver who specialises in the 10 metre platform event and was the 2009 FINA World Champion in the individual event at the age of 15. He started diving at the age of seven and is a member of Plymouth Diving Club. He has made an impact in national and...
.
Personal life
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
but lives and trains in Sydney. He publicly came out
Coming out
Coming out is a figure of speech for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people's disclosure of their sexual orientation and/or gender identity....
as gay in 2008 to the Sydney Morning Herald when they were profiling Olympic hopefuls. During the 2008 Beijing Olympics, he was also featured on the cover of the international gay publication The Advocate
The Advocate
The Advocate is an American LGBT-interest magazine, printed monthly and available by subscription. The Advocate brand also includes a web site. Both magazine and web site have an editorial focus on news, politics, opinion, and arts and entertainment of interest to LGBT people...
in August 2008 and March 2009, as well as the cover of Australian gay publication DNA
DNA Magazine
DNA is an Australian monthly magazine targeted at the gay male audience. The magazine features stories, celebrity profiles, pop culture reviews, fashion tips/reviews, grooming tips and photography. The magazine is available at most newsagencies in Australia, as well as larger book stores...
. Mitcham's boyfriend, Lachlan Fletcher, attended the 2008 Summer Olympic Games as a spectator. His trip was sponsored by a grant from Johnson & Johnson
Johnson & Johnson
Johnson & Johnson is an American multinational pharmaceutical, medical devices and consumer packaged goods manufacturer founded in 1886. Its common stock is a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the company is listed among the Fortune 500....
's Athlete Family Support Program.
Mitcham gained media coverage in Australia as reporters thought he was the first Australian to compete at the Olympic Games
Olympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
as an openly gay
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
man at the time of his competition. However, Mathew Helm
Mathew Helm
Mathew Helm is an Australian diver who won the silver medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics in the men's 10 metre platform. He was in first place at the end of the preliminary round and the semi-finals, but was passed by Chinese diver Hu Jia in the finals...
, the Australian diver who won the silver medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics in the men's 10m platform, had publicly announced he was gay before the Olympics began. Other notable gay Australian Olympians include Ji Wallace
Ji Wallace
Ji Wallace is an Australian gymnast and Olympic trampoline champion.Earlier in his career Ji Wallace won several Australian national titles and made an international breakthrough in 1996 by winning gold in the DMT discipline at the 19th Trampoline World Championships in Vancouver.In the World...
, who competed at the 2000 Summer Olympics
2000 Summer Olympics
The Sydney 2000 Summer Olympic Games or the Millennium Games/Games of the New Millennium, officially known as the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was celebrated between 15 September and 1 October 2000 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia...
and won a silver medal in the inaugural trampoline
Trampoline
A trampoline is a device consisting of a piece of taut, strong fabric stretched over a steel frame using many coiled springs. People bounce on trampolines for recreational and competitive purposes....
event; however, he came out after the Games.
Prior to his 10m platform win, Mitcham was reported to be one of only eleven openly gay athletes competing in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, out of 11,028 athletes from 204 countries.
Mitcham has said when asked to comment on his coming out: "I don’t see sexuality as influencing my beliefs or opinions or perceptions of anybody, whether they’re gay, straight, bi, trans, experimental, I don’t care. I see it as a very uninfluential factor in people." Mitcham has said that after the Beijing Olympics, he received many letters from gay teenagers, "and that was really nice, really humbling".
In 2009 and 2010, Mitcham was selected by readers of samesame.com.au as one of the 25 most influential gay Australians.
Sponsorship
Despite his diving achievements, Mitcham struggled to attract corporate sponsorship. In the The Advocate, an editor said, "What's a guy to do when he's got the gold, the fame, the man - but no big-time endorsements?" In 2009, Mitcham secured financial support from the Australian telecommunications provider TelstraTelstra
Telstra Corporation Limited is an Australian telecommunications and media company, building and operating telecommunications networks and marketing voice, mobile, internet access and pay television products and services....
.
In March 2010, Matthew Mitcham was announced as the new face of Funky Trunks
Funky Trunks
Funky Trunks is an Australian brand of swimwear and accessories for men, boys and toddler boys manufactured and marketed by Way Funky Company Pty Limited. The business was founded by Duncan McLean in 2002. Other lines by the company include Funkita for girls and KI Argo...
. He will appear on advertising campaigns across Australia, Europe and the United States as the brand rapidly expands into international markets. He is also a spokesman and "swimwear ambassador" for the brand.
Other appearances
- In 2009, Matthew Mitcham was the Chief of Parade of the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi GrasSydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi GrasThe Sydney Mardi Gras is an annual LGBTQI pride parade and festival in Sydney, Australia, and draws in thousands of visitors from around Australia and overseas...
after being declared the 2008 Australian Sports Performer of the Year. - In February and March 2010, Mitcham appeared in the second seasonAustralia's Greatest Athlete (season 2)The second season of Australia's Greatest Athlete was broadcast on the Seven Network and hosted by Mark Beretta and Tom Williams, with Ricky Ponting presenting occasional fitness tips and interviews with the competitors in video packages...
of Rexona Greatest Athlete Australia reality television series in which 8 of Australia's most popular sports athletes compete in 8 episodes in various challenges to win the "best athlete" award. - He also announced taking part in the Cologne 2010 Gay Games2010 Gay GamesThe 2010 Gay Games were held at Cologne, Germany from July 31-August 7, 2010.-The Bidding Process:On 16 March 2005, the Federation of Gay Games announced that Cologne, Johannesburg, and Paris were the official candidate cities for Gay Games VIII in 2010. Cologne was elected in the FGG annual...
in GermanyGermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. He was seen promoting the Games. The Gay Games VIII will be held in August 2010. The event will feature 35 sports, as well as community and cultural events. - He also competed in an episode of 'Talkin' 'bout your generation', representing Gen Y with comedian Josh ThomasJosh ThomasJoshua Lloyd Thomas is an American football defensive end who is currently a free agent. He was signed by the Indianapolis Colts as an undrafted free agent in 2004. He played college football at Syracuse....
.