If Eric Radford had wanted to be political, he certainly had the opportunity to do so a little more than a year ago at the Sochi Winter Olympics.
He could have publicly acknowledged he is a gay man against the backdrop of Russian president Vladimir Putin's Games in a country where anti-gay legislation had made its way to the forefront of the news.
Radford, who is Canadian, had contemplated that option and went so far as to contact GLAAD about doing so but ultimately decided he did not want the added pressure of being "the gay athlete" of the Games in addition to the grueling demands of competing in them.
Instead, he decided to publicly announce his sexual orientation on his own terms in December. In doing so, he became one of just a handful of figure skaters to openly discuss being gay while still a competitor. This week in Shanghai, he could become the first openly gay skater to win a world title since John Curry won in 1976. He and his skating partner, Meagan Duhamel, are the heavy favorites to win Canada's first title since 2001, especially after earning a season-best score of 76.98 points Wednesday to put them in the lead entering Thursday's free skate.
"I look back on it now, and I think if I had come out before Sochi, I don't think I would've faced any backlash or been arrested or anything like that, but I do think the effectiveness of my story wouldn't have been as effective or as clear or as honest," Radford told ESPN.com in an interview before he headed to China.
"The Olympics are such a huge stage to tell such a story, but at the Olympics, huge stories happen every 15 minutes. I thought maybe I would tell my story, but then 15 minutes later, someone would win a gold medal and there would be a new story."
Radford, who has dominated the season with Duhamel, decided to share his story now mainly so he could be a role model to the LGBT community. When he was growing up in Northern Ontario, where hockey is king, he often was bullied for figure skating. The message he is sending to boys now is that you can be gay and successful, perhaps even a world champion.
"It would've made a huge difference for me to have had an idol or someone to look up to, and, hopefully, I can provide that," said Radford, now 30 and in a long-term relationship with his boyfriend of about four years. "And not just to young kids, but to adults ... no matter what, you can achieve success in whatever you want to do."
Radford said the first gay man he knew of was his former coach, Paul Wirtz. Prior to that, he said his idea of what it meant to be gay came from television characters from shows such as "Will and Grace."
On the onset, it would not seem so unusual to be public about your sexual orientation as a figure skater, but in reality, it has not happened all that often. Rudy Galindo, who wrote in his book, "Icebreaker," about being told by judges to tone down effeminate moves, came out as gay toward the end of his career.
So did Johnny Weir, who also acknowledged his sexual orientation through an autobiography in 2011 and competed in just one major event afterward. Once roundly criticized in the sport for his outrageous comments and outfits, Weir has become one of the most popular people in figure skating -- so much so that he and Olympic gold medalist Tara Lipinski are not only in the booth at skating events for NBC, they have also cropped up at the Super Bowl and the Kentucky Derby.
John Curry was outed by a German newspaper shortly before he won his world championship title in 1976 (the same year he won the Olympic gold medal). When Curry was diagnosed with HIV in the mid-1980s, he began to open up to the public about being a gay athlete. Brian Boitano did not speak publicly about his sexuality until shortly before the 2014 Olympics, and that was 26 years after he won a gold medal in the 1988 Calgary Games.
Although most of the general public was not surprised by any of these athletes' declarations, it remains somewhat unusual for anyone in skating to make such statements.
Gay marriage is legal in 37 states (and the District of Columbia) and has been legal in Canada since 2005. Apple's CEO Tim Cook came out as gay in October, and longtime congressman Barney Frank is now promoting a memoir that in part discusses his being gay. In the sports world, Jason Collins became the NBA's first openly gay player before the close of his career, as did Michael Sam in college football before the start of his brief NFL career.
But figure skating, which so often has been depicted as a "gay sport" (see such movies as "Blades of Glory"), has always had a tricky history when it comes to LGBT skaters telling their stories in public.
Some skaters, including Boitano, reacted with praise when they heard Radford's story. Others, especially Radford's close friends who already were in the loop, did not seem to think it was a big deal. As for the media coverage, Radford's decision to go public landed him on the front page of the National Post, a major Canadian newspaper.
"It would've made a huge difference for me to have had an idol or someone to look up to and, hopefully, I can provide that." Eric Radford, on one of the reasons he decided to publicly share his sexual orientation
"I was pretty naïve," Radford said about sharing his story with Outsports.com. "I did the interview, but I didn't talk to my agent about it. I really didn't give it too much thought. The writer told me the article would come out on a Thursday, and when Thursday came, I thought, 'Oh no, I ruined my life.' Then instantly, I got calls to do all these interviews with news outlets, and the feedback from journalists and everyone in the rink was all very, very positive."
Duhamel, who has been skating with Radford for five years and has known him since he was 11, was not surprised by the news and said she came across it through a Twitter link.
"In his close circle, it was not a secret," Duhamel said. "I texted him right away to tell him what a good job he did in the interview. This time that we live in, it's not so unusual for notable people to come out publicly. Eric didn't do it because he wanted people to know that he [is] gay ... most people who knew him already knew."
Considering the era we live in today, it is not so unusual for anyone to be open about their sexuality, but there was a time when LGBT skaters believed they could not be open about their sexuality because they feared the ramifications of the judging. In a subjective sport like figure skating, some athletes did not want anything to get in the way of potential success.
"I was afraid that if people found out I was gay, they would associate it with AIDS, since back then [in the '80s], AIDS and HIV was so new and was in the news," said Jeff DiGregorio, a former competitive skater who has gone on to become a prominent coach and official. "I kept things very quiet, especially because back then I had a bunch of talented, young skaters [Lipinski among them] and I was just starting my career."
DiGregorio said he came out as gay to close friends in his mid-20s but really didn't go out of his way to tell anyone about his private life. That is until he started getting onto Facebook, and then his friends soon found out about his partner, whom he married in November 2013. At the rink, he works so closely with another coach, Pam Duane Gregory, that some people assumed the two were married. Gregory, who is married to another figure skater, Scott Gregory, was among those who stood for him at his wedding, however.
"Back when I was skating, coaches weren't out, skaters weren't out and officials weren't out," DiGregorio said. "These kids now don't think twice about it."
When Boitano decided to come out, DiGregorio said it sent a great message to young skaters.
"I'm a role model in the rink, but Brian's an Olympic champion," DiGregorio said. "For him to do that, it does say a lot to the younger generation, that he's been pretty successful in life and is an Olympic champion."
Boitano readily admitted there was no way he would have discussed his private life when he was competing. Boitano, who skated at a time when many of his top American competitors were not gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender, said he felt "isolated in figure skating."
"It was difficult for me," Boitano said. "I thought about everything when I skated and the message it sent. I thought about my haircut. I thought about my costumes and the choice not to wear beads on it. I was always thinking about ways to be more masculine."
Boitano tried to keep his sexual orientation to himself, especially after he won the Olympic gold medal, although he said he revealed it to none other than Brian Orser, his chief rival and the 1988 Olympic silver medalist, when they were on tour after the Calgary Games.
"When all was said and done, I decided to tell him," Boitano said. "We were on this long journey together, and although we were not especially close friends -- we were competitors -- we went through this together."
But Boitano's biggest fear at the time was with post-Olympic endorsements.
"It was way too big a risk because of that," Boitano said. "Way too big. I had worked so hard to reach this point in my career, and I didn't want to lose it all."
Boitano finally did publicly talk about his sexuality, but it was not the way he had ever planned to do so. In fact, he never planned on making his private life public. But then he was asked to be part of President Barack Obama's delegation for the Sochi Olympics, and other members of the delegation, including tennis great Billie Jean King and Olympic hockey star Caitlin Cahow, were open LGBT athletes and advocates. Boitano, who was in France when the delegation was named, decided to publicly discuss his sexuality shortly after the announcement was made.
Some assumed Boitano had already been public about his sexuality, but he had never said anything public about being gay before.
"I really didn't experience much negativity," Boitano said. "I received no bad Twitter messages. Just some who said, 'Big surprise.'"
Boitano said he felt "incredible" about receiving supportive texts and emails from the likes of Dick Button and Scott Hamilton.
"You hear people say all the time, 'I'm so relieved,' but I wasn't relieved at all," said Boitano of his experience. "I'm a very private person, but I felt like I had to do this. Everyone's different, though. I would simply encourage everyone to do what is best for them."
Boitano and Radford knew of each other but have not met. Radford was glad to hear that Boitano was impressed by his decision. Boitano said he thought, "Wow. That's a bold move. It's not easy to come out when you are still competing in a judged sport. I was impressed."
Radford, meanwhile, was well aware of Boitano's decision to go public, and admired him for it.
"I thought it was great they were making a statement, but with all the uncertainty about how all the LBGT issues would play out [in Sochi], I could feel some apprehension for anybody that was out before they went over," Radford wrote in a text to ESPN.com.
As Radford and Duhamel approach these worlds, they are far more concerned about perfecting their throw quad Salchow, a maneuver attempted by only a handful of pairs teams in the world, than they are about any ramifications they might face from Radford's coming out.
After struggling through a pressure-cooker campaign last season with plenty of high expectations for the Olympics, they made a concerted effort to do things for their own gratification this year.
"Eric and I have almost come to a point in our lives where we could care less what other people think about a lot of things," said Duhamel. "I'm sure many of the judges on the panels already knew and people have wondered if we were concerned about that, because it does come up as a question, but my thought is if people are shallow enough to think that way, then shame on them."
Over the years, the two have tried to produce some traditional pairs programs that err on the romantic side, but they had little luck. They even hired acting coaches and ultimately decided it was better for them to try to highlight their athleticism. In addition to the quad throw, they also do side-by-side triple Lutzes, a rare feat in pairs skating.
"I think Meagan and I have a different chemistry," Radford said. "It's not that romantic chemistry, but it's a natural chemistry, and I think it's flourishing more now [than] when I was not out and trying to force everything."
Since coming out, Radford said he has been told by some skating fans how "proud" they are of him, and many have used the word "brave." Radford isn't quite so sure how he feels about using that word to describe his own actions. In North America, where many people have been open-minded about the subject, he doesn't feel so "brave," but he has learned from his recent travels that it takes more courage to be open about one's identity elsewhere in the world.
"Shortly after I came out, I was in Barcelona for the Grand Prix Final and people kept coming up to me, gay men, saying, 'I'm so proud of you,'" Radford said. "And then I was in Korea, and a guy said, 'You've inspired us. You're so brave.'
"I've heard stories about people coming out and having their worst fears come true, of people not relating to it. I haven't read or received anything negative. People around the world have read my story and related to it. It makes it all worth it."