I. Testa, at 23 years old, competed in the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro and won a silver medal in the women’s featherweight division.
The Olympic gold medalist boxer, who also triumphed at the 2019 European Championships, said in an interview that she felt safe enough to reveal her sexual orientation after her Olympic victory.
People who are close to me have known for years, but I feel it’s time to inform everyone else.
“Because winners are held to a higher standard of perfection than other athletes, discussing sexual orientation in the context of the sports world carries a specific weight. And there are still many who view homosexuality as a flaw.
For fear of negative publicity, many athletes choose to remain mute and private. Until recently, it was also how I felt.
With her Tokyo victory as a “shield,” I. Testa stated, “Now that Irma the athlete is secure, Irma the lady can be real.”
I. Testa elaborated, saying, “There are people who suffer from prejudice, who are bullied, who are unable to establish a life for themselves because they do not know how to adapt to a society that is hostile to them.
Humans have a right to be free from harm. I mean, at the very least, safe. Who else can guarantee your safety if not the state, its institutions, and its laws?
It’s unfortunate that prejudice still affects so many people today. I can’t change the world, but by being honest about who I am, I can show that being LGBT+ is fine.
After his Olympic Victory, Testa comes out as Gay.
Irma Testa, a boxer from Italy who won bronze at the Olympics in Tokyo earlier this year, has come out as homosexual. She claims that her victory gave her the courage to reveal her sexual orientation.
The 23-year-old boxer took home bronze in the women’s featherweight division at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. She competed in Rio in 2016, losing in the quarterfinals; in 2019, she won gold at the European Championships.
Final Words
I. Testa stated that she did not wish to define her sexual orientation, but that she is “relieved” to have done so publicly.
“It’s as though I’ve always wanted to tell others whose experiences mirrored mine, ‘I understand you perfectly, I too am like you.'”
