Scottish Cycling Champ Comes Out

Former world champion cyclist Graeme Obree says that after attempts to commit suicide and years of therapy, he is finally comfortable being an out gay man.

Obree was raised during a time when it seemed better to be "dead than gay," so he suppressed his feelings, he told The Scottish Sun.

"I was brought up by a war generation," he said. "They grew up when gay people were put in jail. Being homosexual was so unthinkable that you just wouldn't be gay. I'd no inkling about anything, I just closed down."

The Scottish cyclist attempted to commit suicide in 1998, and 2001, after which he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. In 2005, Obree began to go to a psychologist who helped him realize he had been suppressing his emotions for years. He eventually came out to his family, including his wife.

"My parents had to come to terms with the whole gay thing, it's been a journey for them," he said. "It was difficult and there were lots of tears. It wasn't easy. But the relationship with my parents has been improved by it. We talked about it and discussed things and we're a lot happier."

Obree, now 45, broke the world hour record in 1993 and again in 1994. He reached the top spot using his bike dubbed "Old Faithful," created out of spare parts, built by hand.