The British-born American freestyle skier failed to add to his silver from Sochi, but a historic kiss with his boyfriend on primetime network TV may have made an even bigger impact back home

When the American freestyle skier Gus Kenworthy shared a kiss with boyfriend Matthew Wilkas at the bottom of the hill before Sunday morning’s ski slopestyle qualifying, neither was immediately aware the moment was captured by NBC’s cameras.

But the significance of an openly gay male athlete kissing another man on primetime network television during one of the world’s biggest collective experiences was not lost on the Saturday night audience back home in the United States where it quickly went viral and was feted by LGBT activists as a marker of progress amid the broadcaster’s much-criticized handling of gay athletes.

The British-born Kenworthy, competing despite suffering a broken thumb during training on Thursday and having six vials of blood drained from a hematoma on his hip, was one of eight skiers to score 90 or better in qualifying for the afternoon final at the Phoenix Snow Park, where he ultimately failed to land any of his three runs and finished last out of 12 finalists. Norway’s Oystein Braaten won the gold ahead of Kenworthy’s American team-mate Nick Goepper and Canada’s Alex Beaulieu-Marchand, who took silver and bronze respectively to nudge Great Britain’s James Woods off the podium.

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On one hand it was a comedown for Kenworthy, who captured the silver in the same event four years ago in Sochi while closeted. On the other, the 26-year-old from Colorado took heart in knowing he put his best effort forth on a global stage as his true self.

“I didn’t even know that that was a televised moment at all, but I think that’s amazing,” Kenworthy said afterward. “That’s something that I wanted at the last Olympics was to share a kiss with my boyfriend at the bottom and it was something that I was too scared to do for myself. And so to be able to do that, to give him a kiss, to have that affection broadcasted for the world is incredible.

“I think that the only way to really change perceptions, break down homophobia, break down barriers is through representation. That’s definitely not something I had as a kid. I definitely didn’t see a gay athlete at the Olympics kissing their boyfriend and I think that if I had it would have made it a lot easier for me, so hopefully it did that for other people.”

Britney Spears (@britneyspears) So proud of #TeamUSA!! Hey @guskenworthy, gimme, gimme more on the slopes today!! #ItsGusBitch 👍😉⛷

Kenworthy spoke at length during the run-up to Pyeongchang about his decision to come out three years ago, emerging as a prominent voice in the LGBT community. He credited Wilkas for his success in a Saturday tweet, calling the actor his “Seoul mate”, and was even name-checked by longtime gay icon Britney Spears in the hours before Sunday’s final.

So which Olympics experience was more meaningful: winning a silver while in the closet or missing the podium while living an authentic life?

“If you look at me right now, I’m bummed but I’m not sulking, I’m not crying,” Kenworthy said in the aftermath. “I’m really proud to be here. Being out at this Games has kind of meant the world to me. Just getting to really be myself and be authentic and I think that landing a run in the final, getting on the podium obviously would have been icing on the cake. But even though it didn’t happen for me, I still had a wonderful Olympic experience and I’m really happy for the guys that did get on the podium. I don’t know, maybe there’s a next time.”

Kenworthy is one of a record number of openly gay Olympians at these Winter Games, including American figure skater Adam Rippon, who won a team bronze and finished 10th in Saturday’s individual competition, in addition to at least a dozen more from other countries.



Their presence was amplified by the decision to send vice president Mike Pence to last week’s opening ceremony as the head of the US delegation. Said Kenworthy on the Ellen DeGeneres Show earlier this month: “It just seems such a strange choice for me. To have someone leading the delegation that’s directly attacked the LGBT community. It just seems like a bad fit.”

The skier continued to hit out at the former Indiana governor after touching down in South Korea, alluding to Pence’s right-of-center record on gay rights in an Instagram post after the opening ceremony and quipping about the hidden upside to Thursday’s broken thumb: “It won’t stop me from competing (obvi) but it does prevent me from shaking Pence’s hand so... Silver linings!”

While disappointed with Sunday’s outcome, Kenworthy made it clear his Olympics were a success beyond the slopes.

”I think that the most important thing in the world is for everybody to live their life as themselves, and be authentic and honest,” he said. “I didn’t really get to experience that in Sochi, so it feels good to have that here.

“It wasn’t the sports result I was hoping for but I’m very proud to be representing the LGBTQ community and happy to be here with other athletes that also are. And just be part of such an amazing and diverse country.”