The Buzz: Snippets of news

THE BUZZ

FINALLY FREE

British Olympic champion Dame Kelly Holmes has said she can “finally breathe” after she came out publicly as gay. The Olympic gold medallist told the Sunday Mirror that she first realised she was gay at the age of 17 after a fellow female soldier kissed her. But she said a fear of being prosecuted at a time when LGBTQ+ soldiers were banned from the pre-2000 military ban forced her to stay silent. However, Holmes said a terrifying brush with COVID-19 made her realise that she wanted to show the world her “real self”.

“I needed to do this now, for me,” Holmes said. “It was my decision. I’m nervous about saying it. I feel like I’m going to explode with excitement.” She continued: “Sometimes I cry with relief. The moment this comes out, I’m essentially getting rid of that fear.” Holmes shared that she had secret relationships with other soldiers during her 10 years in the British Army, risking being “court-martialled” and being jailed if they were caught. She described an incident when the Royal Military Police searched her accommodation in what she believed was a check to root out LGBTQ+ soldiers. “They pulled everything out of your cupboard, turned out the beds and drawers, read letters – everything – trying to catch us out, so we could be arrested, court-martialled and potentially go to jail,” Holmes said. you’re serving your country and you’re doing a good job. You feel violated, treated like you’re some massive villain. “Those moments stuck with me because I didn’t want to lose my job, I loved it. But I felt the law was wrong.” Until 2000, it was illegal for people serving in the British military to be openly part of the LGBTQ+ community. Several LGBTQ+ veterans who served under the military ban have shared they were discharged from the forces, stripped of their medals or convicted under the vile laws.

Kelly Holmes revealed she struggled with her mental health because of having to hide her sexuality in public and was terrified that she would still face repercussions for breaking the anti-LGBTQ+ military ban during her time in the forces. Holmes said she was “convinced throughout [her] whole life” that she might face retrospective action for breaking the military ban if she “admitted to being gay in the Army”. She added there “have been lots of dark times” where she wished that she could “scream” that she is gay, but she just couldn’t. “When I got injured or ill I would cry all the time because all I needed to do was get back running, because if I didn’t get back running my brain was just going mad,” she said.

“I’d think, ‘No one talks about it in the sport, how do I suddenly say I’m gay? I can’t because I’m admitting that I broke the law in the Army’.”

She continued: “It’s humiliating, it’s degrading – it feels disrespectful when Kelly Holmes has won seven gold, eight silver and four Bronze Olympic, Commonwealth and European medals.

WE’RE FINA - THEIR DECISION IS FINAL

Lia Thomas - a transgender swimmer hopes to compete in the next Olympics games

The conversation around the inclusion of transgender women in women’s sport has divided opinion both inside and outside the sporting sphere. Many argue transgender women should not compete in women’s sport because of any advantages they may retain - but others argue sport should be more inclusive. Fina, swimming’s world governing body, has voted to stop transgender athletes from competing in women’s elite races if they have gone through any part of the process of male puberty. Fina will also aim to establish an ‘open’ category at competitions for swimmers whose gender identity is different than their birth sex.

The new policy, which was passed with 71% of the vote from 152 Fina members, was described as “only a first step towards full inclusion” for transgender athletes. The 34-page policy document says that male-to-female transgender athletes could compete in the women’s category - but only “provided they have not experienced any part of male puberty beyond Tanner Stage 2 [which marks the start of physical development], or before age 12, whichever is later”. The decision was made during an extraordinary general congress at the ongoing World Championships in Budapest. “Fina’s approach in drafting this policy was comprehensive, science-based and inclusive, and, importantly, Fina’s approach emphasised competitive fairness,” said Brent Nowicki, the governing body’s executive director.