Heath Thorpe is aiming to qualify for gymnastics at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. A gymnast who came out as gay posted on Instagram that he has a guaranteed spot to compete as an individual athlete.
All he has to do is win the individual all-around at the next continental championships.
he wrote on Instagram.
“Four Australians and four New Zealanders will go head-to-head in the all-round on May 26 in Auckland. The gymnast with the highest score on the day will qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympics. Masu.”
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Thorpe was abruptly dropped from Australia's squad for the 2023 World Championships. Ahead of the tournament, Thorpe expressed his disappointment at being left out of the team.
“I am disappointed that I was not selected for the Australian team for the 2023 World Gymnastics Championships,” he wrote…
related
At the World Gymnastics Championships, Australia finished 24th out of 24 teams. And it wasn't even close.
The difference in points between 24th place Australia and 23rd place Colombia was the same as between 23rd place Colombia and 2nd place USA.
This was a disastrous and embarrassing outcome for Australia, which had decided to keep Thorpe in his homeland due to a scoring system that did not benefit Thorpe's artistry. As Queerty's Alex Reimer reported, the scoring system will change next year, but these championships and the Olympics will still be governed by the old scoring system.
Still, Thorpe has a 1 in 8 chance of qualifying for the Olympics. how?
Australia will not compete as a team, but the continent of Oceania, which includes Australia and New Zealand, will have one guaranteed spot for players to compete as individuals. The Oceania Continental Championships will be held in Auckland on May 25th and 26th.
If Thorpe wins, he'll be in, otherwise he'll be out.
If he qualifies for the Paris Summer Olympics, he will become the first openly gay athlete to join the list of Olympic athletes.
Three years ago in Tokyo, there were 186 LGBTQ athletes announced by OutSport. However, less than 10% were men. If Thorpe were able to qualify, he would become an important symbol of gay male excellence at the Olympics.
Looks like it's up to him now.
