Meagan Duham and Eric Radford (Photo: @ericradford85 | Instagram)
Canada’s Eric Radford made history on Monday when he became the first openly gay male athlete to win a gold medal at the Winter Olympics.
The medal came for his participation in the team skating event in Pyeongchang, South Korea.
Today, Radford and his skating partner Meagan Duhamel today took bronze medals in the main figure skating event at the Winter Olympics. They performed their routine to Adele’s song, Hometown Glory.
Afterwards, the 33-year-old said it was the perfect ending to his competitive career.
This is Radford’s second Olympics, but his first as an openly gay man. In Sochi in 2014, he and Duhamel finished seventh.
Radford came out in 2014 in an exclusive interview with Outsports. He went on to win the World Championships with Duhamel in 2015.
Today’s routine featured an incredibly difficult manoeuvre called a quad throw. It’s believed the first time such a move has successfully been included in an Olympic routine.
‘We saved the best for last,’ said Radford of the throw, reports National Post.
Partner Duhamel added: ‘We don’t ever have to do a quad throw again … We landed the last quad we tried. That makes me happy.’
Today’s pairs event was won by Germany’s Aljona Savchenko and Bruno Massot. China’s Sui Wenjing and Han Kon took silver.
Radford and Duhamel’s career medals also include gold at the World Championships in 2015 and 2016, and gold at the Four Continents Championships in 2013 and 2015.
‘Probably the closest to “Happily Ever After” I will ever get’
After today’s event, Radford tweeted that it was, ‘Probably the closest to “Happily Ever After” I will ever get. #Olympics #soulmate #thankyou #unforgettable #figureskating #theperfectending’
Probably the closest to “Happily Ever After” I will ever get. #Olympics #soulmate #thankyou #unforgettable #figureskating #theperfectending pic.twitter.com/J70nRWv67w
— Eric Radford (@Rad85E) February 15, 2018
This morning, before his final Olympic appearance, he tweeted, ‘I don’t know how today will end but it feels good to know that maybe, I’ve already made a difference. It’s been fun dreaming my wildest dreams and having so many of them come true. Thank you for all of the support. Now…time for a little more #HometownGlory’
Radford was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and lives in Montreal, Quebec. He is engaged to marry his partner, Spanish ice dancer Luis Fenero, who he proposed to last summer.
So proud that @Adaripp and I get to wear these medals and show the world what we can do! #represent🏳️🌈 #olympics #pyeongchang2018 #pride #outandproud #medalists #TeamNorthAmerica pic.twitter.com/eXMlZ2Utrw
— Eric Radford (@Rad85E) February 12, 2018
