Speed Skater Conor McDermott-Mostowy Comes Out as Gay

Conor McDermott-Mostowy, a rising star in speed-skating, has come out... but in a more subtle way than perhaps what we might be accustomed to from public figures: By just being himself.

McDermott-Mostowy told Outsports that he's never had to hide who he is, comes from a supportive family and, yet, has never felt like he had to wear his sexual orientation on his sleeve. Instead, there are hints on his Instagram posts – though McDermott-Mostowy himself might shrug off the idea that he's suggesting and instead say he's just being himself.

In fact, Outsports explains that when the topic of being an openly gay athlete comes up, "he's instead been happy to answer any questions, just be who he is, and always figured that if a reporter asked him about it, he'd tell the truth."

But where the sports world is concerned, misconceptions about gay athletes are partly why he held his tongue. The misperception that gay athletes aren't as good sportsmen as straight cisgender men was somewhat of a hindrance, as McDermott-Mostowy explains, "I think I've kind of always had that at the back of my mind.

"I don't want to talk about being gay, because there's a stereotype that gay guys aren't athletic, and I don't want that to be held against me or used to justify a bad result.

"I've been uncomfortable with that. But I feel like at this point, no one can say anything."

Emerging as one of the top speed skaters, McDermott-Mostowy was the United States national champion in both the 1000-meter and the mass start at the U.S. Open National Championships earlier this month. He earned a bronze medal and set personal records in the 1500-meter and the 1000-meter. He said he was so excited about the latter, in which he bettered his previous personal-best time, that he unexpectedly let out the "F-word," which rang throughout the arena as he crossed the finish line.

On that happening in future telecast, he says, "I'm pretty sure that they're going to have to bleep that out when I cross the finish line. I'm not someone who generally celebrates. That's not really what I do."

Over the last five years, he went from being a "skater floundering a bit in the sport," according to Outsports, to "taking aim at a spot on the track in Beijing as part of Team USA" at the 2022 Winter Olympic Games.

If McDermott-Mostowy makes it to Olympics, he will join the ranks of skier Gus Kenworthy and figure skaters Adam Rippon, Jorik Hendrickx, and Eric Radford, all four of whom were out as they competed in 2018. He says "everyone" in his proximity knows he dates men, and so his "coming out" shouldn't be much of a surprise.

He points to a more general problem with homophobia in sports across the board. Even though he has heard homophobic comments from athletes about other people, "I've never had a bad experience with anybody personally."

If McDermott-Mostowy's own story isn't riddled with angst and strife, that's fine. He says, "If a happy coming-out story, a happy athletic story, can help someone, that's great.

"And also to put myself out there. If anyone had ever wondered if I'm gay, now they'll know. If anyone feels uncomfortable asking me, they don't have to ask me.

"I can put myself out there and kind of go back to focusing on skating."