Figure Skater Adam Rippon Headed to Winter Olympics for Team USA, First Out Gay Man to Compete

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National Public Radio reports:

As of Sunday [January 7, 2018] morning, 28-year-old figure skater Adam Rippon will be the first openly gay man to compete for the United States in the Winter Olympics.

Despite a disappointing fourth-place performance at the U.S. figure skating championships Saturday night, Rippon was selected to join Nathan Chen and Vincent Zhou in Pyeongchang next month.

"I don't really care what other people think of me. I'm able to go out there and I'm really able to be unabashedly myself," [Rippon] said. "I want somebody who's young, who's struggling, who's not sure if it's OK if they are themselves to know that it's OK."

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