Louganis: In denial

Veteran gay rights campaigner Peter Tatchell has ‘outed’ Greg Louganis in a national newspaper.

Louganis, a four-time Olympic diving champion and campaigner for HIV awareness, first publicly announced that he was gay in 1994, but Tatchell has revealed for the first time that he is also black.

Writing in The Guardian, Tatchell included the 49 year-old American in his list of ‘leading black icons’ who were lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender. He also described him as a ‘prominent black LGBT achiever’.

The surprising revelation that Louganis is black is said to have come as a complete shock to many of his friends and family. In fact, it had been such a closely guarded secret that it is thought only very few people knew. Some have even gone as far as suggesting that the fact was so well hidden nobody was aware.

Louganis himself, now a regular competitor in dog agility events, has yet to comment publicly.

Protection: Bring to the Boyle

Scottish comedian Frankie Boyle has been forced into hiding over comments he made about top British Swimmer Dame Rebecca Adlington.

The move came after the BBC Trust ruled that Boyle had made remarks about the double Olympic champion that were ‘humiliating’ and ‘risked offending the audience’ during an episode of Mock the Week originally shown in August 2008.

Many swimmers were angered at the time of the original broadcast and this latest announcement is thought to have particularly antagonised extremist factions within the swimming community where feeling still runs high.

The BBC had already announced that the Scot would no longer be appearing on Mock the Week, but this looks highly unlikely to have placated the more militant swimmers.

So far the police service have refused to comment on rumours that Boyle is under 24 hour armed guard. Similarly his whereabouts remain a complete mystery, although the comprehensive list of tour dates on his website did provide some clues.

Coughlin: Boogie woogie

Olympic swimming champion Natalie Coughlin became the latest victim of what some are calling the ‘Curse of the Dancing Swimmer’ after being eliminated from Dancing With the Stars.

Dancing With the Stars, the American version of celebrity dating show Strictly Come Dancing, has previously featured a number of Olympic gold medallists, but three-time winner Coughlin became the least successful among that group after becoming the sixth celebrity to be voted out.

The former backstroke world record holder’s poor performance exactly matches that of Britain’s Mark Foster who was also the sixth person to be eliminated when he competed in Strictly Come Dancing. Foster, 61, scored 16 out of a possible 40, somewhat lower than the 22 managed by Coughlin.

The theory that swimmers are cursed with an inability to dance has previously been suggested by both geneticists and anyone who has attended a swimming club Christmas party.

‘I definitely wasn’t a dancer coming into this.’ confirmed Coughlin who, unlike Foster, resisted the urge to take off her top after being voted out.