On Saturday, out gymnast Josh Dixon finished second out of 72 competitors at a qualifier for the 2012 Olympics.
If Dixon continues to advance he could become the first openly gay male gymnast competing in the Olympic games. Outsports spoke to the young athlete, who graduated from Stanford University. His gymnastic team at the university won national championships in 2009 and 2011; Dixon himself is a seven-time all-American athlete. Dixon, a San Jose native, tore his Achilles tendon last spring, which almost derailed his gymnastics career. But he's in the midst of an amazing turnaround and is practicing at an Olympics training center.
Dixon says he's received no negative feedback from teammates after he told them he was dating a fellow male athlete. He does admit that he's had to face down his own internalized homophobia. Read more here.
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