Skiing - FIS Ski Jumping World Cup - Planica, Slovenia - March 30, 2023 Poland's Andrzej Stekala in action during the Men's HS240 Qualification REUTERS/Borut Zivulovic/File Photo
(Reuters) - Polish ski jumper Andrzej Stekala has publicly come out as gay, sharing an emotional message in which he mourned the loss of his partner, who passed away in November.
The 29-year-old started competing in the World Cup in 2015. In 2020 and 2021, Stekala was part of the Poland team that won bronze medals at the Ski Flying World Championships in 2020 and the FIS World Championships in 2021.
"For years I lived in the shadow of fear, in hiding, afraid that who I really was could destroy me. I want you to really get to know me. I’m gay," he wrote on his social media late on Wednesday.
Stekala said his long-term partner passed away in November and that he is mourning the loss, which is one of the reasons he decided to publicly come out.
"I no longer want to hide who I am. I am myself – a man who loved and still loves. And I know that he would want me to continue living in harmony with myself."
Stekala is not part of the Polish squad for the ongoing Four Hills Tournament.
Only a handful of Polish sportspeople have come out as gay due to rooted conservative values and the still strong influence of the Catholic Church.
(Reporting by Tommy Lund in Gdansk; additional reporting by Anna Wlodarczak-Semczuk in Warsaw, Editing by Angus MacSwan)
