Canadian Olympic hero, Mark Tewksbury, declares he's gay

Mark Tewksbury, the swimmer who won a gold medal in the 1992 Olympics, is to announce Tuesday evening that he is gay.

Tewksbury will go public about his sexuality at Toronto's Buddies in Bad Times Theatre.

The swimmer says he has wrestled with his orientation for years. He finally told his parents he was gay shortly after the 1992 Olympics. They reacted with tears.

"When my parents reacted like they did, I instantly knew there was no way I was going to tell my agent, my sponsors, the media, the country," Tewksbury told The Globe and Mail.

"I thought that I've got to keep my secret to myself or everything I know is going to be taken away from me."