Sep 10
French Paralympics Athlete Comes Out in Triumphant IG Post
Kilian Melloy READ TIME: 2 MIN.
Paralympics competitor Dimitri Pavadé finished fourth in the men's long jump competition in Paris, but he took the gold for courage when he came out in an Instagram post.
"Pavadé, who won a silver medal at the 2020 Tokyo Games, returned to the men's long jump T64 classification final on Wednesday [Sept. 4], where he was just .06 meters short of a podium finish and earning a bronze medal in the competition," Huffpost reported.
In his Sept. 7 post, Pavadé shared a photo of himself with two rainbow-colored male symbols and, in the best tradition of sporting, challenged the world's homophobes to rise above their anti-queer attitudes.
"Yes I am SMALL, MIXED-RACE, ONE-LEGGED, and on top of that, GAY !!!!!!" the athlete captioned the photo.
Going on to point out that LGBTQ+ people do not choose their sexual orientations or gender identities, Pavadé asked those who cling to discriminatory ways of thinking to "stop with your pitiful speeches and your judgments without reasoning because you will never change the world."
"The most important thing in my eyes today is that those who matter to me, love me for the person I am, and not for an image that I could have created, in this overly judgmental society," Pavadé said. "If some do not accept you as you are then they are not worthy of your LOVE. Life is too short to pay heed to these kind of individuals."
The Paralympian was clear-eyed about the challenges that lay ahead, especially now that he has kicked down the closet door.
"Now I have a second fight to lead with MY LGBTQIA+ COMMUNITY," the world-class athlete posted, "and I hope to give strength and courage also to the people still in the CLOSET or to these HIGH-LEVEL SPORTSMEN who do not dare to live openly and freely".
The long-jumper stood up for pride, making an eloquent case for prioritizing more constructive things than prejudice.
"Disability is not meant to be hidden or ashamed of," the athlete declared, before adding that "the same goes for your sexual orientation, 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."
In that same stark light, he offered a reminder of the potentially lethal consequences that being LGBTQ+ carries in places around the world where diversity is frowned upon and inclusion is rejected.
"Children and adults still commit suicide or are killed today," he noted. "Remember that in your own social circle you could one day be affected."
"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," Huffpost backgrounded.
After losing the lower part of his right leg, Pavadé "vowed to walk again without anyone's help, before he found para athletics and learned to run and jump with a blade," the outlet added.
Pavadé is "one of just five male athletes at the Paris Paralympics who are out," Huffpost said, citing LGBTQ+ athletes site Outsports.
Check out some of Pavadé's other IG posts below.
Kilian Melloy serves as EDGE Media Network's Associate Arts Editor and Staff Contributor. His professional memberships include the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association, the Boston Online Film Critics Association, The Gay and Lesbian Entertainment Critics Association, and the Boston Theater Critics Association's Elliot Norton Awards Committee.
