BIOGRAPHY Matthew Mitcham, born March 2,1988 in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, is an Australian diver, best known for winning the gold medal in the 2008 Olympic Champion on the 10m platform.
A former trampoline gymnast, Mitcham began diving in 2000 after being spotted at a local pool by a coach who believed he had potential. Mitcham, who was once the junior world champion in trampoline, quickly began diving full time, and competed in his first national championship meet at age 12. From 2002 through 2004, Mitcham was a national junior champion in diving, winning the events in which he competed.
In 2005, Mitcham won his first senior national title. He competed at the Australian Olympic Youth Festival, where he won the silver medal on the 1m board with a score of 508.35; the gold medal on the 3m with a score of 565; the gold medal on 10m with a score of 555.8, and the gold medal with synchro partner Scott Robertson on the 3m synchro with a score of 316.23. Mitcham took a break from diving in 2006. In 2007, he returned to the sport. In 2008, Mitcham made his Olympic debut in Beijing in the 10m platform event winning gold. His win prevented China from claiming a clean-sweep of all diving medals at the Olympic Games and subsequently made him the first Australian male to win an Olympic gold medal in diving since Dick Eve in 1924.
Mitcham was the only openly gay male athlete at 2008 Summer Olympics. He made headlines in Australia when he revealed to the Sydney Morning Herald that he is gay, becoming one of the first Australian athletes to do so. Mitcham admits he didn't see a future in sports as a child. A self-described non-athletic kid, Mitcham also has a rebellious streak that at 14 led him to get his tongue pierced. Mitcham, who is often described as "free-spirited," still has the piercing, which he says he doesn't even notice while diving. View GALLERY:
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