Olympic president comes out

The president and CEO of the Vancouver Olympics thanked his partner for his support in a very public way during a reception for LGBT athletes.

Philip Steenkamp began his speech at the reception by thanking his partner and adding, “He is a true Olympic widow. I really want to thank him for all the support that he’s given me.”

For the first time in Olympic history, a very public and very large venue has been set up to honor the Games’ LGBT athletes. Pride House was the brainchild of Gay Whistler, which wanted to promote the area’s Gay Ski Week. The gay-themed ski event begins the day after the Olympics close.

The Pride House is not only a resource for gay athletes and fans, but also a statement to fight homophobia in sports.

“Anybody with an open mind is granted to come in,” Gay Whistler CEO Dean Nelson told Outsports.com. “We anticipate that quite a few people streaming through will be straight people who are curious about what we’re doing and what it’s like to be a gay athlete.”

The support the house has received from the public, media, athletes and Steenkamp could arguably make the Vancouver Games the most LGBT-friendly Olympics in history.

While Nelson hopes gay athletes will use the Pride House to declare pride in their sexual orientation, the house is open to all.

“We hope it will give more confidence to our athletes to be authentic,” he said.