Tom Daley and Daniel Goodfellow. | Photo: npower / Twitter
Diver Tom Daley just won a gold medal at the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games and then used his moment in the spotlight to call out anti-gay laws.
He won the 10m synchronized event with fellow Team England diver Dan Goodfellow.
Announcing the win on Twitter, he wrote ‘G O L D’ and used two little gold emojis.
Daley then said: ’37 of the competing nations criminalise being LGBT+. I feel so lucky to be able to be openly who I am without worry.’
He added: ‘I hope one day every athlete from every nation in the commonwealth will be free to compete openly as who they are too!’
🥇G O L D 🥇
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🏳️🌈 37 of the competing nations criminalise being LGBT+. I feel so lucky to be able to be openly who I am without worry. I hope one day every athlete from every nation in the commonwealth will be free to compete openly as who they are too! 🏳️🌈 pic.twitter.com/ry4GPiZhdB— Tom Daley (@TomDaley1994) April 13, 2018
Daley previously won two gold medals for England at the 2010 Commonwealth Games and then bronze at the 2012 London Olympic Games.
He also won a silver medal in the men’s synchronised 10m platform at the 2014 Commonwealth Games.
Trinidad and Tobago decriminalize gay sex
The public call-out of anti-gay laws in Commonwealth countries comes about after 100,000 activists knocked on the door of 37 countries to demand an end to gay sex bans.
The activists delivered a petition with 104,115 signatures to the Commonwealth headquarters in London on Wednesday (11 April).
It called for the decriminalization of homosexuality in countries like India, Kenya and Barbados.
The celebrations brought many to tears | Photo: Facebook/CNC3 Television
One of the Commonwealth countries in question, Trinidad and Tobago, decriminalized gay sex yesterday (12 April).
The Caribbean nation overturned colonial-era laws that said anyone ‘who commits buggery is guilty of an offense.’
This ruling means now 71 countries in the world criminalize homosexuality.
