Patrick Jeffrey at the
96 Summer Games

Patrick Jeffrey

Platform diver Patrick Jeffrey reveals what it felt like to be on the inside of the '96 Summer Games as an out gay athlete

When Patrick Jeffrey walked purposefully to the edge of the diving platform last summer in Atlanta, the buffed and bronzed 31-year-old was fully aware it was his final competition as an Olympic athlete. That meant it was also the last chance for Jeffrey, a five-time national champion, to bring home an Olympic medal as the exclamation point for his 20-year diving career.

"I knew if I dived well, I could win," he recalls. "But I just focused on being calm and enjoying the experience. I just wanted to put myself in a position where I had a chance."

Such a Zen approach doesn't come easily. But Jeffrey says he was able to put the pressure in perspective, thanks in part to the inner strength he developed during the process of coming to grips with being a gay man.

Patrick Jeffrey in action
He dived solidly, finishing a respectable ninth but well out of medal contention. Yet today there is no remorse, no wondering about what might have been. Instead he focuses on who he is and the considerable things he's accomplished.

"I just want to live my life and feel good about who I am," he says. "I think by doing that - by shedding all the bullshit I've been fed all my life about who I'm supposed to be and getting down to the root of who I am - I become a better person and a more useful person to the entire community, the gay community included."