France’s Dimitri Pavadé represented his home country in a big way after coming out as gay just days following his fourth-place finish in men’s long jump at the Paralympics in Paris.
Pavadé, who won a silver medal at the 2020 Tokyo Games, returned to the men’s long jump T64 classification final on Wednesday, where he was just .06 meters short of a podium finish and earning a bronze medal in the competition.
Later, on Saturday, he took to Instagram and shared a photo of himself smiling while holding rainbow-colored interlocking male gender symbols in a nod to announcing his coming out in the post’s caption.
“Another fight awaits me now, and I was impatiently waiting for this moment. Here I am today, ready once again to face, overcome and move forward without taking into account what others may say or think of me,” wrote Pavadé, according to a Google translation from French to English.
He continued, “Yes, I am SMALL, MIXED-RACE, ONE-LEGGED, and to add another layer, GAY!!!!!! The person I am, and like others, have never had to make a choice, so stop with your pitiful speeches and your judgments without reasoning because you will never change the world.”
Tom Weller/VOIGT via Getty Images
In 2007, Pavadé, a native of Réunion, a French island roughly 422 miles east of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean, was injured in his hometown after being hit by a forklift truck on Christmas Eve, according to the Olympics’ official website.
Following the accident, the tibia on his right leg was amputated. He vowed to walk again without anyone’s help, before he found para athletics and learned to run and jump with a blade.
It led to his current status as a long jumper for France, where he’s represented the country in the European and World Championships aside from the Paralympics in recent years.
Elsewhere in his Instagram announcement, Pavadé said he wants to “be the icon of people with disabilities” and be a leader in the LGBTQIA+ community.
He also shared that he hopes to give “strength and courage” to those who have yet to go public with their identity, along with athletes who don’t live “openly and freely.”
“Disability is not meant to be hidden or ashamed of, the same goes for your sexual orientation,” Pavadé wrote.
“So embrace yourself as you are and remember that you are not alone, life is extremely short and so many beautiful things are offered to us that we cannot deprive ourselves of them.”
Pavadé is one of just five male athletes at the Paris Paralympics who are out, according to Outsports.
