Over the weekend, Queerty reported that out Olympic speed skater Blake Skjellerup stripped down for an intimate cover (and interview) with GT magazine. But this is not the first time Skjellerup has shed his clothes. Whether it was for photographer James Demitri or just some selfies, the athlete has taken it off before. Consider this a Blake Skjellerup body appreciation post.
Blake Skjellerup (born 13 June 1985 in Christchurch, New Zealand) is a short track speed skater who competed for New Zealand at the 2010 Winter Olympics; finishing sixteenth.
Skjellerup began speed skating at the age of 10 after an injury from rugby union provided him with the opportunity to try speed skating. After a few lessons Skjellerup took to the sport and has won five national titles and broken numerous national records throughout his speed skating career. He is currently working towards being at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.Skjellerup lives and trains in Calgary, Canada.
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Skjellerup came out as gay in an interview with Australian magazine, DNA in May 2010, saying he had decided to wait until after the Vancouver Games to do so in order to focus on his performance and to avoid turning off potential sponsors. He is one of only a few openly gay Olympic athletes and was reported as having a boyfriend, also an athlete.
In 2011, Skjellerup and Matthew Mitcham, a gay Olympic athlete from Australia, were named by the Federation of Gay Games as ambassadors to the 2014 Gay Games in Cleveland, Ohio. Skjellerup also became an advocate for Pink Shirt Day, a nationwide campaign to fight bullying in New Zealand.
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