SEAN MICHAEL GUNN born on this date, is a Zimbabwean swimmer. He competed in the men’s 100 metre freestyle event at the 2016 Summer Olympics, setting what was then a new a national record. While that record has since been eclipsed, his 200-meter freestyle national record from earlier in 2016 still holds today.

The international stage wasn’t unfamiliar to Gunn. He had competed in the FINA World Swimming Championships as a teenager. By 2016, Gunn was a swimmer at the University of Kentucky. There he was part of relay teams that broke school records.

It was also at Kentucky where Gunn came to realize and accept that he was gay. “Initially I was not out at all,” Gunn said of his time at Kentucky. “I dated girls for the first few years. I had some really great relationships with girls over the years and really loved them. 

“Obviously over time that changed and I started dating guys later on. But my team, and everyone who did know, was very supportive and happy for me.”

Now, having retired from competitive swimming, Gunn is more of a runner and lives with his boyfriend in South Africa.