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The American runner will hope his recent decision to come out as openly gay will not overshadow the action on the track at the Monaco Diamond League on Friday.
American 110 hurdles runner Trey Cunningham will be thrust in the spotlight at the Monaco Diamond League on Friday since coming out publicly as gay.
In a recent interview with the New York Times, Cunningham said he is now coming out to the rest of the world, five years after telling his family about his sexual orientation, in what he termed the “scariest thing I’ve ever done.”
Cunningham said the main reason for coming out publicly was due to a track training technique he uses.
“We say our goals out loud. If there’s something we want to achieve, we say it. Putting something in words makes it real,” said the 25-year-old, who said he did not explore the idea of being gay until college, while attributing his sexuality to growing up in rural Alabama.
Cunningham, who ran for Florida State University, also told US Weekly he realised that people don’t care, hence his reasons for coming out.
“I’m just Trey, and apparently it’s a special thing that I like to kiss guys,” he said.
Cunningham, the 2022 world 110m hurdles silver medalist, missed out on a ticket to the Paris 2024 Olympics but will be out to banish that disappointment at the Monaco Diamond League on Friday.
He is up against compatriot Grant Holloway, the three-time world champion, who returns to the Diamond League for the first time since his win in Eugene in May.
Holloway will want to maintain his unbeaten streak this season but Jamaican champion Rasheed Broadbell and Sasha Zhoya of France – who equalled his PB of 13.15 to win in Paris – will also be on the hunt for confidence-boosting performances.
It will be a race that will cast the spotlight on Cunningham who hopes his decision to come out will not overshadow the action on the track.
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