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Stroke of Genius
Swimming star of the 1980s, Ingi Thor Jonsson shares the secrets to his success
"I find it dreadfully sad that athletes still feel they have to hide their true selves. Even today there are high-profile swimmers, afraid to come out"
For Ingi Thor Jonsson, swimming was life itself. He ate, slept and dreamt the sport. By 21, through hard work and talent, the award-winning Icelander was about to notch up his second Olympics, at LA in 1984. Personally, however, he felt increasingly trapped. “I played the game and lived a straight life,” Ingi recalls. Matters came to a head during training for the 1984 Games, when he finally came to terms with who he really was. “I was discovering sides of me I could not fulfil if I stayed in the very homophobic world of sport. The only way that I could cope mentally was to quit. It was the most painful period of my life.”
That was 20 years ago, but Ingi’s exit from the world of competitive swimming still pains him. “It was such a shame. I had ten years of my career left and it was a good life. I find it dreadfully sad that athletes still feel they have to hide their true selves. Even today there are high-profile swimmers, afraid to come out.”
He decided to travel the world and explore who he really was – away from the glare of international sport. Ingi came to London in the early 1990s to train as an actor, landing parts in Touching Evil (co-starring Robson Green) and BBC1’s Roughnecks. Outside of acting he found time to run a restaurant in Shepherds Bush, London. “I didn’t go swimming for almost two decades,” he sighs.
In 2001, he decided to leave London and move to Manchester for a job with Air Atlanta Icelandic. It was there that he was introduced to Northern Wave, a gay swimming club. At first he wasn’t sure he wanted to return to the sport, but the club, with over 1,000 members, has changed Ingi’s life. “It’s just so liberating to be able to compete against gay swimmers from all over the world, where I can celebrate openly with my friends and family.”
At first, Ingi was modest about his swimming talents, mentioning that he had “swum a little”. He preferred to draw attention away from his past. But when he started winning every race, he was forced to “own up”. His colleagues’ covetous glances soon turned to adulation when he started winning medals for them.
When he’s not on the podium Ingi is involved with development and coaching at the club. “I love it here. It is classless and has members from all walks of life, from postmen to surgeons.”
Ingi divides his time between several projects, including being a speaker on a youth initiative visiting schools and community centres in the Greater Manchester area. “I’m introduced as a gay athlete and I talk about my career. I tell them all about the sport, showing that there is an alternative to clubs and pubs. And I want to let students know that I’m there for them if they need advice.” criticism stops.
