A gay Olympian from Leeds Leeds has shared a haunting experience when he was told “f*** are not welcome” in his sport.
British racewalker Tom Bosworth came out as gay in 2015 and has been a vocal campaginer for LGBT+ rights and also regularly highlights the abuse that he suffers.
In a series of recent tweets, he told his followers that he has been "accused of being in the wrong" in the past.
However, he also spoke out about an encounter where he claims he was told “fags like me aren’t welcome within athletics”.
Tom, from Leeds, said: "I’ve once tweeted about an athletics official bully, and I was accused of being in the wrong.
"So I’m going cautiously but, I’ll call them an athletics volunteer from the same county messaged to let me know, 'fags like me aren’t welcome within athletics'.
"2020 fills me with hope.”
Despite his experience, Tom added he will not be taking action against the volunteer in question, but added that if there is any repeat of the remarks, he will not hesistae to report them.
He said: “RE: previous tweet. Thanks for all the lovely messages, so much love and solidarity. Thanks to @BritAthletics for reaching out.
"On this occasion I decided not to take it further. Any repeat, that won’t be the case.
"I’m confident in my own skin and will protect those who aren’t."
Tom is a three-time world-record holder and six-time British record holder for race walking.
Several other Team GB athletes, including Dina Asher-Smith and Kirsty Law, replied to his tweets in solidarity with Tom.
