FEATURE Sports Complex Jump for Ji: Olympic Trampoline Medalist Returns Out and Proud Jim Provenzano | August 29, 2005 Ji Wallace competing at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney - Photo: Eileen Langley Ji Wallace flies high as a trampoline medalist, having won the silver in his native Australia at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney. But more than that, he's also one of few out gay athletes of his caliber to return to the sport after coming out. Wallace, now 28, retired from trampoline following his success in 2000. "I followed my heart to other areas of discovery," says Wallace. "I coached in China, went skiing around the world, and even performed in a circus." Wallace also worked a day job at Nike Australia. But after witnessing the trampoline scores at the 2004 Athens Olympics, Wallace realized that a gold medal could have been his, if he had continued competing. Now, honored as one of Australia's many Olympic athletes, Wallace also enjoys an additional and unique success. He is one of a few currently competing out athletes with a goal toward chasing what he calls his "ultimate dream" – a gold medal at the Beijing Olympics in 2008. Such ambitious goals are in line with Wallace's devotion to his sport, which rarely had sanctioned competition when he began worrying his mother by jumping off the family home's roof onto a back yard trampoline. At a mere 15 years old, Wallace’s first big international competition was at the 1993 Indo-Pacific Championships in San Diego. "This is where I got the taste of great international action," says Wallace, who won a number of open events as well. Wallace won several national titles and made an international breakthrough in 1996 by winning gold in the Double Mini Trampoline (DMT) discipline at the 19th Trampoline World Championships, held in Vancouver, British Columbia. At a more recent competition, Wallace also set a still-unbroken world record for completing a jump with the highest degree of difficulty in the DMT: a triple-triple. Despite the lighter-than-air quality of trampoline competition, none of this came easily to Wallace, who lives in Adelaide, Australia. He trains sometimes six days a week for varying hours each day. "A typical day's training involves morning sessions from 6:30 to 9:00," says Wallace. "Three days a week I have an hour-and-a-half workout in the gym." A few days a week, he adds chiropractic sessions, followed by three-hour afternoon gym workouts back on the trampoline. Keeping so busy has made Wallace's being gay less important to him than improving his skills in the air. He was out to friends and family for years, but made more of a public declaration this year, when he became an ambassador for Gay Games VII, to be held in Chicago July 15-22, 2006. Not that the struggle for equality in athletics isn't important to Wallace, who welcomes the awareness it brings for his sport and GLBT athletes. "I think there is still homophobia in sport (from fans, sponsors, administrators, and teammates)," says Wallace. "Some athletes may still be struggling with personal acceptance of their homosexuality. Athletes can be so focused on achieving their dreams and goals that everything else in life comes a distant second - including their sexuality." Being a competitor in the Olympics sometimes makes it difficult to enjoy the event itself. "Some lucky athletes are finished on the first or second day and get to enjoy most of the Olympics from the stands," says Wallace of his Sydney experience. "I was lucky as I finished on day eight - the middle of the Olympics. I was fortunate enough to be able to appreciate the intense build-up of competition and also the fun side of success and fame following my competition." Another highlight for Wallace was the opening ceremonies of the 2000 Olympics. "The athlete's march is like our mecca,” says Wallace. "It's mind-numbing, especially if you have the opportunity to do it in front of your home crowd." As for other gay Olympians, Wallace says he only later heard about out competitors in other sports. "My competition readiness was the foremost occupation of my mind," he says. "I don't recall meeting another gay athlete, even while socializing." Although trampoline will not be featured at the seventh Gay Games, Wallace says, "I am sure trampoline and gymnastics would be a huge hit as a demonstration." And even if Gay Games competition may not be equal to his, Wallace says, "Many Gay Games athletes train as hard as I do. I can certainly appreciate their desire to succeed and can appreciate the dedication needed." Like many other world-class athletes, Wallace focuses more on the future and his current training than on past successes, which is shown by where he keeps his medals. "My mum has all of mine in the hometown," says Wallace. "Otherwise, I would lose them. I understand they are in a box in the cupboard." As Wallace prepares for future competitions, he says he's proud to be included among the growing list of out athletes. "We are certainly an underrepresented community in the world of sports. I think the more equality comparisons we can draw against our straight neighbors, the more respect, encouragement, and acceptance we can garner for our efforts and abilities." Jim Provenzano is the author of the novels PINS and Monkey Suits. Read more sports articles at www.sportscomplex.org Related stories The 'O' Word: Women's Rights, Gay Rights, and the Olympics [15/08/2005] SA Gay Games bid 2010: An update [22/08/2005] For more info on Gay Sport in South Africa contact Gay Sport SA