Gus Kenworthy wins first competition as openly gay athlete – fans show support with rainbow flags

Olympic freeskier Gus Kenworthy won his second consecutive Dew Tour title this week – his first as an openly gay athlete.

He won the slopestyle competition in Breckenridge, Colorado, and was buoyed by the report he received from fans.

‘Was also really touched to see people holding rainbow flags at the bottom of the course – thank you!’ he wrote in an Instagram post after his victory.

He also wrote that he ‘couldn’t be more stoked to take the win.’

‘Last year’s win felt great but the conditions were less than ideal and a lot of guys struggled to carry speed down the course,’ he wrote. ‘This year, the conditions were amazing and almost every guy in the field landed a heavy run so the win feels much more legitimate.’

Kenworthy, 24, is a three-time world champion and is considered the best free skier in the world. He wanted to wait until he reached the top of his sport before coming out publicly in October.

He won an Olympic silver medal in Sochi, Russia, in 2014.

After the win, Gus posted a pic of himself on Facebook with Anderson Cooper silver fox hair and wrote: ‘Putting the gay in gray.’