Silver medal-winning Olympic curler Bruce Mouat has opened up about how coming out as gay helped him reach the heights of his sport.
In a video for BBC Sport, Mouat, who won silver in 2022 and is on Team Great Britain this year in Milan-Cortina, explains that coming out was "a tough time" for him, but necessary for him to reach his full potential.
"The first ever person I told was actually a sports psychologist because I wasn't really performing very well. I wasn't really enjoying my curling," he reveals. "But I really think that it helped me to feel comfortable within the team environment and now, 12 years later, I'm going to my second Olympics feeling pretty good about myself."
Mouat first came out to his teammates in 2014 at age 19.
In the video, Moaut also explains that when he and his partner, Craig, met in 2021, Craig had "no idea what curling was," but an endearing pick-up line helped ease the tension.
"I think he used a chat-up line of like, 'how do I break the ice?' in his first couple messages," Mouat remembers. "So I knew from that point that he was pretty goofy... Since then, he's absolutely loved curling."
"There's not many out gay men in sport, especially in Great Britain, but I think there is a sense that I am maybe now a role model. And, you know, I don't take that lightly," he says. "I've had so many messages of people that have maybe struggled with participation in sports, that they're now feeling encouraged because of what they've seen that I've been able to do on the elite side of the sport."
Mouat and Team Great Britain face off against Team Switzerland in the men's semifinal on Thursday.
