Rio 2016 Olympic hopeful Tom Bosworth becomes first British track athlete to come out as gay

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Tom Bosworth has become the first British track athlete to come out as gay.

The 25-year-old racewalker has competed at the World Athletics Championships and is expected to compete at the 2016 Rio Olympics.

Explaing his decision to come out, Bosworth told Victoria Derbyshire he wanted to ensure the news came from him and did not disrupt his family or life closer to the competition.

Bosworth also described the physical and verbal abuse he received because of his sexuality in school and while competing in local competitions.

“When I was competing in local athletics a number of years ago, some other athletes called me 'fag' or ‘queer,” he said.

“When I was at school, when those feelings were still developing, I had my head smashed through a window by a group of boys.”

Bosworth said his teammates and friends were unsurprised by the news. “Even Mo Farah who didn't bat an eyelid when I told him I was gay,” he told the BBC.

“I got to know him and others on the Great Britain endurance team prior to the World Athletics Championships in August after we spent a few weeks on a pre-training camp in Japan.

“It was a great chance to talk about it in a relaxed environment and everyone was very supportive of me being the first openly gay athlete on the GB team.”

His announcement comes after the Olympic diver Tom Daley came out to world-wide support in a YouTube video in 2013. He announced his engagement to his partner Dustin Lance Black in September.

The LGBT charity Stonewall said it was "delighted" by Bosworth's decision to speak openly about his sexuality, particularly because of his status as a sportsman.

A spokesperson told The Independent: “We know from our research that attitudes in sport need to change before everyone feels free to be themselves; Tom's decision to speak out is part of that change.

“It was also really heartening to hear that during this time Tom has found so much support from Team GB. They have demonstrated that they accept their fellow team mates without exception and we should all be extremely proud to have an Olympic team that is so inclusive and that inspires and enables people to be themselves."