Tom Daley: Olympic diver should not feel alone after he joins a growing number of athletes to publicly announce their sexuality

Daley made the decision to publicly confirm he is in a relationship with a man with many others feeling the need to make similar revelations in the past

Tom Daley’s public announcement that he is in a relationship with a man has been widely considered as a brave and courageous act, especially given his tender age of 19-years-old, but he is far from the first sporting figure to do so.

With the current state of sport and it’s acceptance of homosexuality featuring prominently in the build-up to the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia, Daley’s revelation comes as yet another name to add to the growing list of active or retired sportsmen and women to publicly reveal their sexuality – sometimes with the aim to increase the awareness that not enough is being done to address the situation.

Here, we take a look at others who have made the decision to publicly announce their sexuality, and analyse whether it has had an impact on their sporting careers.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW A GALLERY OF ATHLETES THAT HAVE DECIDED TO PUBLICLY ANNOUNCE THEIR SEXUALITY