updated birth_place discipline birth_date article_title name
20 august 2012 warrnambool , australia track 24 september 1976 michelle ferris
 michelle ferris
michelle ferris

she is one of the few professional australian athletes to come out publicly as gay , noting `` whenever i was interviewed after a race during my career , the journalists always asked me about my performance , no one ever asked if i was gay .
if that question had been asked , i would have answered it honestly .
i 've never been afraid of who i am .
but when you 're talking about your race results , you 're not going to add on at the end , ` by the way , i 'm gay ' . ''
she has served as an ambassador for the gay games and stated she `` ca n't say why so many lesbian athletes stay silent .
but she says that while it was no secret she was gay when she won her silver medals at the atlanta and sydney olympics , she never spoke about it publicly at the time . ''
