Australian Matthew Mitcham, the winner of the 10-metre platform at the Beijing Olympics, said last week that his decision to talk openly about being gay may have prevented him from getting the proper sponsorship deals.
The 21-year-old came out in a newspaper interview before Beijing, where he made history by receiving the highest mark for an individual dive at Olympics.
Although Mitcham received positive feedback from fellow athletes and the media since coming out publicly, he admits he has attracted substantially less sponsorship compared to other gold medalists.
"As soon as anybody looks up to you, you automatically become a role model whether you choose to be or not, and you can either embrace it or not," Mitcham said. "I choose to embrace it and try to be the best role model I can be." He also added that he hasn't experienced any homophobia in sport but he is hoping not to experience it in the corporate world either. He, however, has only signed a few contracts with sponsors after winning the gold.