Celebrated openly-gay Olympic bobsledder Simon Dunn was found dead in his home at the heartbreakingly-young age of 35. Without speculating on the cause, I knew that Dunn had been open about his struggles with anxiety and depression of late (see his powerful words in this post), and regardless of cause, the early expiration of anyone is a sad thing to witness. In Dunn’s case, he leaves a legacy of pioneering efforts of the acceptance and celebration LGBTQ people in sports. His last Instagram post is the featured photo here – it went up four days ago and he wrote, “I think it’s time for another photoshoot?!” Haunting words that serve to remind everyone that you never know what anyone else is going through at any given time. Even the most seemingly-perfect people have their troubles.
At times like this I wonder if we are looking out for each other enough. I hope Simon has found some sort of peace, and I’m grateful for all the work he did to push for acceptance and equality, and for all the people he touched in his short time here.
