Team Great Britain's Tom Daley ended his long wait to top an Olympic podium after winning the men's synchronized 10-meter diving competition with his partner Matty Lee on Monday.
In December 2013, Daley came out on YouTube and almost eight years later, the Briton says he is proud of the LGBT representation that he has witnessed at the Games.
"When I was a little boy, I felt like an outsider, and felt different. And I felt like I was never going to be anything, because who I was wasn't what society wanted me to be," he said.
He said that he hopes they don't feel "so frightened and scared and alone."
"To be able to see out LGBT people performing at the Olympic Games, I hope [that] can give young kids hope," he said, adding that he hopes they are "able to see that no matter who you are, where you come from, you can become an Olympic champion, because I did."
Daley’s husband, screenwriter Dustin Lance Black, posted a video on Instagram of him screaming and celebrating the win from Canada as they watched the live event from afar. The couple have a three-year-old son together.
In comments after the event, Daley said he also felt he’d grown since becoming a husband and father.
“My husband, he said to me that my story wasn't finished, and that my son ... needed to be there to watch me win an Olympic gold medal,” he said.
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