"Years of hard work, routine and training finally paid off for 26-year-old judoka Timo Cavelius," writes Instinct. "Returning to Stuttgart's German National Judo Championships for the third year in a row, the out athlete was able to pull off the big W against former champion Tim Gramkow. This accomplishment makes Cavelius the first out fighter in the Japanese martial arts discipline to hold the title." With the win and his success internationally, Cavelius has his sights set on qualifying for the 2024 Paris Olympics, he told Outsports. In a 2020 interview with the German magazine Spiegel, he said, " A well-known German tabloid actually wanted to do a big story about my sexuality — but because I can't tell a sad or shocking story about my coming out , they dropped the topic." Asked about his coming out process, Cavelius said: "I think I went through the same emotional process as other gay boys of that age. When I realized at the age of 13 that I was much more interested in other men than in women, I didn't admit it to myself for ages and thought it was just a phase. When I moved to the 'House of Athletes' in Munich at the age of 15 to concentrate on sports, I had the opportunity to meet up with boys for the first time in the big city. From then on, it was actually clear to me that I was gay. I was in my first relationship and started talking about it with friends and family as well. I actually accepted it as a normal part of me back then." But the 26-year old waited to come out until 2019, telling Spiegel that "(I)n sport, the topic was taboo for me for a long time. Not only because I had repeatedly read horror stories in the media about athletes coming out. In my team we were all pubescent boys who still wanted to prove their masculinity. Judo is also a very physical sport, after all you throw each other around and you're incredibly close in ground combat. I was afraid that the others would no longer take me seriously.⁠ ⁠ Tap link in bio for more on @EDGEmedianetwork ⁠ ?️‍???‍♂️❤️⁠ ?: Timo Cavelius

"Years of hard work, routine and training finally paid off for 26-year-old judoka Timo Cavelius," writes Instinct. "Returning to Stuttgart's German National Judo Championships for the third year in a row, the out athlete was able to pull off the big W against former champion Tim Gramkow. This accomplishment makes Cavelius the first out fighter in the Japanese martial arts discipline to hold the title." With the win and his success internationally, Cavelius has his sights set on qualifying for the 2024 Paris Olympics, he told Outsports. In a 2020 interview with the German magazine Spiegel, he said, " A well-known German tabloid actually wanted to do a big story about my sexuality — but because I can't tell a sad or shocking story about my coming out , they dropped the topic." Asked about his coming out process, Cavelius said: "I think I went through the same emotional process as other gay boys of that age. When I realized at the age of 13 that I was much more interested in other men than in women, I didn't admit it to myself for ages and thought it was just a phase. When I moved to the 'House of Athletes' in Munich at the age of 15 to concentrate on sports, I had the opportunity to meet up with boys for the first time in the big city. From then on, it was actually clear to me that I was gay. I was in my first relationship and started talking about it with friends and family as well. I actually accepted it as a normal part of me back then." But the 26-year old waited to come out until 2019, telling Spiegel that "(I)n sport, the topic was taboo for me for a long time. Not only because I had repeatedly read horror stories in the media about athletes coming out. In my team we were all pubescent boys who still wanted to prove their masculinity. Judo is also a very physical sport, after all you throw each other around and you're incredibly close in ground combat. I was afraid that the others would no longer take me seriously.⁠
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Tap link in bio for more on @EDGEmedianetwork ⁠
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?: Timo Cavelius