Further Personal Information |
Higher education |
Sports Science - University of North Carolina : Chapel Hill, NC, USA |
General Interest |
Hobbies |
Spending time at the beach, going to the theatre. (Instagram profile, 01 Mar 2016) |
Famous relatives |
His father John was an American football and lacrosse player at Long Island University in the United States of America. His older brother Ryan swam for the State University of New York. (usaswimming.org, 03 Feb 2012) |
Sport Specific Information |
Why this sport? |
Both his parents were lifeguards and encouraged him to take up swimming. |
When and where did you begin this sport? |
He began swimming competitively at age 10. |
Further Personal Information |
Occupation |
Motivational Speaker |
Languages |
English |
General Interest |
Nicknames |
Tom, Tommy (usaswimming.org, 11 Jul 2013; swimmingworldmagazine.com, 22 Jul 2015) |
Further Personal Information |
Residence |
Long Island City, NY, USA |
General Interest |
Other information |
RETIREMENT
He retired from swimming in September 2015. (usaswimming.org, 15 Sep 2016)
SEXUALITY
In December 2014 he announced he was gay in an essay published in Out Magazine. He revealed he was not being true to himself and it was affecting his swimming and his daily life. He also wanted to help others. "If I could save that one person and make them feel better about themselves, I want to do that. That is a big part of who I am, but it is not the only part. I am a lot of things. I am a student. I am an athlete. I am a son. I'm a brother. Being gay does not change that." He has a tattoo on his wrist of the day he came out as gay to his parents. (outsports.com, 28 Jul 2015; swimmingworldmagazine.com, 22 Jul 2015; swimswam.com, 19 Jan 2015) |
