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Gus Kenworthy switches from team US to Great Britain for 2022 Olympics
Gus Kenworthy switches from team US to Great Britain for 2022 Olympics
Freestyle skier Gus Kenworthy has announced he is switching teams. Having represented the US in two former Winter Olympics, Kenworthy, 28, says he will switch to represent Great Britain from 2020.
His application to switch to GB Snowsport was approved Tuesday by the International Ski Federation.
This means he will likely compete to represent Britain in the 2022 Winter Olympics, which he expects will be his last.
Kenworthy was born in Chelmsford, England. His family relocated to Colorado in the US when he was three. His mother is British and he holds a British passport. He lives in Los Angeles.
In an Instagram posting, Kenworthy said: “I am very excited to announce that I will be competing for Team GB on the road to the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.
View this post on InstagramA post shared by gus kenworthy (@guskenworthy) on
“Although I was raised in the US I was born in the UK and my mum is British through-and-through. She has been my #1 fan for my entire life and has proudly stood at the bottom of the mountain waving the stars and stripes in support of me for two Olympic cycles.
“Now, in what is sure to be my last Olympic appearance, I’d like to return the honor by proudly holding up the British flag for her.”
Kenworthy came out as gay in 2015. He is one of the most high-profile athletes in the US and has gone on further his career into acting, appearing in the most recent season of American Horror Story.
Related: Gus Kenworthy is back on the market, splits with boyfriend Matt Wilkas
His news has prompted a huge response from friends and fans.
Actor Johnny Sibilly (Pose), posted a response on Kenworthy’s Instagram saying, “Honor them roots baby!”. Actor Matthew Morrison (Glee) posted, “Happy to see you shred it in any capacity. So much respect for you, brother!”
Brit singer Sam Smith posted a crying and heart emoji at the news, while fellow GB athlete Tom Daley posted, “Oh. So we are team mates now 
”
Many expressed pride and happiness for Kenworthy and applauded the gesture to his mom.
“What a beautiful way to honor her! You can never replace the special place a mother holds. She will be even more proud of you!”, said @mateogil.
However, a few disgruntled sports fans questioned his loyalties.
“I’m sorry but it’s a bit disrespectful,” commented @jpcon92. “E pluribus unum, we are second to no one. I come from Mexican parents, but will never love any other country more than America.”
Related: Gus Kenworthy strikes back at haters over Pride photo
Kenworthy won a silver medal for the US at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. In an interview with BBC Newsbeat, he denied that he was switching teams because he feared not being chosen by the US team to compete in 2022 in Beijing – but acknowledged it would probably be easier to qualify for Britain.
“I have no doubt in my mind that I could go back for the US but this is definitely going to be a much smoother approach for me,” he said.
“This gives me a path where I’m not taking a place away from one of my friends in the US.”
He told PA News agency: “I think this is going to be my last Games, kind of like my swansong, and I just wanted to do it for my mum.”
He says after representing the US in 2014, the 2018 Winter Olympics, “was actually less about representing the US as much as it was representing the LGBT community and it was the first time that the US had two openly gay men competing – Adam Ripon and I were those two guys.
“I was kind of skiing for the rainbow flag.
“This time around I feel like it’s my last games and I want to do it for my Mum, so in a way I feel like I’ve represented three different flags at three different games.”
King Ahab, Tim Cook, Kellyanne Conway, Stanley Tucci, Beijing, Coldplay, David Mixner, Elijah Cummings: HOT LINKS
King Ahab, Tim Cook, Kellyanne Conway, Stanley Tucci, Beijing, Coldplay, David Mixner, Elijah Cummings: HOT LINKS
ELIJAH CUMMINGS. Eulogies in Baltimore for the late congressman included one from Hillary Clinton, who compared Donald Trump and Melania to King Ahab and Queen Jezebel.
Hillary Clinton on Elijah Cummings: “Like the prophet, our Elijah could call down fire from heaven—but he also prayed and worked for healing…
“Like that Old Testament prophet, he stood against corrupt leadership of King Ahab and Queen Jezebel.” t.co/TlLvHGtkbL pic.twitter.com/U5bOMx2jhh
— ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) October 25, 2019
“There’s nothing weak about kindness and compassion. There’s nothing weak about looking out for others. There’s nothing weak about being honorable.”
-Former President @BarackObama at the funeral of Rep. Elijah Cummings pic.twitter.com/IgXl4YJKQz
— Josh Campbell (@joshscampbell) October 25, 2019
TIM COOK. Apple CEO gives rare interview to People En Español, talks about decision to come out: “What was driving me was [that] I was getting notes from kids who were struggling with their sexual orientation. They were depressed. Some said [they] had suicidal thoughts. Some had been banished by their own parents and family. It weighed on me in terms of what I could do. Obviously I couldn’t talk to each one individually that reached out, but you always know if you have people reaching out to you that there’s many more that don’t, that are just out there wondering whether they have a future or not, wondering whether life gets better … From there I really decided. There’s been a lot of people that came before me that made it possible for me to sit here today, and I needed to do something to help those people that were in a younger generation. It probably took a year between getting the words exactly like I wanted and picking the right time for the company, because I didn’t want it to be a distraction and so forth. I have not regretted it for one minute. Not at all.”
KANYE WEST. Still talking about running for president.
TRANSCRIPT: Kellyanne Conway threatens to investigate reporters personal life in phone call with Washington Examiner reporter.
NEW YORK CITY. Tensions rise as congressional candidates seek endorsement of Stonewall Democratic Club: “Sparks flew during a Stonewall Democratic Club of New York City endorsement meeting on October 23, but the night culminated with members expectedly backing out gay City Councilmember Ritchie Torres in next year’s congressional race to replace José Serrano in the Bronx.”
CASTING. Colin Firth and Stanley Tucci play gay couple on road trip in Supernova: “‘Supernova’ is a deeply romantic, modern love story,” said Macqueen, who also wrote the script. “It follows two people who are bound together by their love for each other but being pushed apart by the situation they find themselves in. It is an intimate, naked portrayal of a relationship facing a fissure that threatens to cut it to its very core.”
BEIJING. For a conservative Chinese city, it’s got great gay nightlife, apparently.
ICON. David Mixner is retiring: “I’m happy as can be. I’m very spiritual.”
ON THE RAG. This week on the gay magazines…
MECHANICAL FANTASY BOX. A new album from disco legend Patrick Cowley. ‘Before his death in 1982, the producer and musician Patrick Cowley was best known for electronic disco productions that defined San Francisco’s gay hi-NRG scene. He was one of the first entertainers with national impact (if not the first) to die of AIDS (his “Menergy” and “Megatron Man” hit the top of Billboard’s club chart in 1981). The party line is that his “career began to rise as his health failed him” (words cribbed from his Bay Area Reporter obit), and the music he made in his final year had a starry slickness to it suggesting even better things to come.’
MEOW. Taylor Swift and Andrew Lloyd Webber wrote a song together.
FREE AS A BIRD. Felicity Huffman released from prison after slap on the wrist.
COVER OF THE DAY. Carly Rae Jepsen “Don’t Speak”.
NEW TUNES OF THE DAY. Coldplay “Orphans” and “Arabesque”.
FRIDAY FLASH. Daniel Tamayo Zapata.
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