Norway’s Jonathan Hertwig-Ødegaard ‘proud and happy’ to be a gay athlete
Jonathan Hertwig-Ødegaard is breaking boundaries (Erik van Leeuwen/BSR Agency/Getty Images)
Jonathan Hertwig-Ødegaard is breaking boundaries (Erik van Leeuwen/BSR Agency/Getty Images)
Norwegian decathlete Jonathan Hertwig-Ødegaard says society needs to do more for queer athletes while speaking publicly for the first time about his experiences as an out gay athlete.
The 20-year-old athlete, who is currently ranked by World Athletics as 81st in the world at the sport, recently reached a major milestone in his career: While competing at the European Athletics U23 Championships in Bergen in July Hertwig-Ødegaard achieved personal bests in six out of eight events, scoring a total of 8,002 points. It was the first time he broke the personal boundary of 8,000 points.
Following his success – and ahead of the Norwegian National Championships, where he’ll compete in the 110-meter hurdles, 100 meters, discus, pole vault and javelin – Hertwig-Ødegaard spoke to the Norwegian public broadcaster, NRK last week about being an out gay athlete.
“I think it’s nice that you can be a role model,” he said. “But at the same time I hope in the long run that it doesn’t have to be necessary.” He went on to say that people put the onus on queer athletes to be “brave and tough” in being open about their identity.
“I feel that there is a bit of a wrong focus, that the responsibility should not lie with individuals,” Hertwig-Ødegaard said. “I think it is the responsibility of society at large to ensure that people are comfortable being open about their sexuality.”
He also said that had athletes before him felt comfortable in being out, that it would made a difference. “It would have helped me as a young boy or young athlete. Not necessarily to have someone to look up to, but just to see that it is completely normal to be gay and be a top athlete.”
Hertwig-Ødegaard continued: “I was a little younger and a little more unsure of myself and unsure of how others would react to it. Now I’m proud and happy with who I am, and I don’t think there’s a problem.” He added that if people do have a problem with him being out, “then that’s their problem.”
The decathlete, who is set to study at the University of Texas where he’ll also compete on the track and field teams, told NRK that he’s concerned about publicity around LGBTQ+ athletes having an adverse effect and discouraging others from coming out.
“The media thinks it’s really great if you can bring out gay role models in sports. But I think that all the attention and publicity it brings can have the opposite or wrong effect – that it can scare others from coming out.” He added, “I think that being openly gay is not really anything new. Well, there are no athletes who are heterosexual who need to come out.”
Kristian Nicolai Stakset-Gundersen, from the group Skeiv Idrettskompetanse, which supports inclusivity in sports, agreed with Hertwig-Ødegaard that society at larges needs to do more to support queer athletes.
“We need to stop putting pressure on queer athletes to come forward and make a difference,” he said. “The rest of the sport needs to show that it welcomes queer diversity. It is sports that must create space for people to be who they want to be. Both the role models at the top, but also the sports organizations such as the federations, regions, circles and clubs.”
OutSports reports that Nico Young was the only out-gay track athlete at the 2024 Paris Olympics meaning Hertwig-Ødegaard’s presence is also a milestone for sport more generally.
175 LGBTQ+ athletes competed in the 2024 games, with representation continuing to be a talking point today. In June, former Olympic diver Tom Daley revealed he’s “often” contacted by closeted queer athletes who are unsure about coming out.
