Jump to content

Simon Dunn

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by InternetArchiveBot (talk | contribs) at 03:24, 8 October 2022 (Rescuing 3 sources and tagging 0 as dead.) #IABot (v2.0.9.2) (Whoop whoop pull up - 10771). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Simon Dunn
File:Wikiprofile1.jpg
Personal information
NationalityAustralia Australian
Born (1987-07-27) July 27, 1987 (age 36)
Goulburn, New South Wales
Height1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)
Weight99 kg (218 lb)
Sport
CountryAustralia Australia
Sport Bobsleigh Rugby
TeamAustralian Bobsleigh Team

Sydney Convicts Rugby Club Calgary Canucks

Kings Cross Steelers London
Updated on 16 March 2016

Simon Dunn (born 27 July 1987 in Goulburn, New South Wales) is a former Australian bobsledder and rugby player. Raised in Wollongong, he was the first openly gay male to represent any country in the sport of bobsled,[1] but then retired in 2016. After several years in London, he is now currently based in Sydney and plays rugby.[2]

File:BobsleighNAC-1157.jpg
Simon Dunn competing in Calgary at the North American Cup

Career

File:Simon Dunn rugby.jpg
Playing for the Sydney Convicts Rugby Union team

Simon Dunn grew up playing rugby league south of Sydney, in Wollongong.[3] Struggling with his own sexuality and life in sport, he gave up the only variable he has control over - Sport. Later in life, getting back into the sport he loves, he became a player for the Sydney Convicts Rugby club.[4] Travelling to Canada to further his playing career, while he worked at the Canadian Sports Institute gym, Dunn had the opportunity to try out for the Australian bobsleigh team.[3] In making this team and representing his country, this made him the first out, gay man to ever represent his country in the sport.[citation needed] He was the brakeman for Lucas Mata.[4] Although in November 2016, he announced his retirement from bobsleigh.[5] He then played rugby in London, UK with the Kings Cross Steelers.[6] Dunn was also nominated and shortlisted for the Australian LGBTI Awards Sports Personality of the Year in both 2018 and 2019.[7] Dunn has contributed as a columnist to Attitude, Gay Times and DNA magazines' online editions and more recently as a columnist on GuysLikeU and Gays with Kids.[8][5]

In July 2021, Dunn announced his return to bobsleigh and intention to represent Australia at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.[9] He began training with the Australian team in September 2021 competing in both 2man and 4man events in Whistler, but suffered a ruptured bicep during his 2nd 4man race of the season in Whistler, British Columbia that required returning to Australia for treatment; in an interview he stated that the injury and rehabilitation time "make [his] chances very slim" to compete in the 2022 Olympics.[10]

Advocacy work

After his initial retirement from the Australian Bobsleigh team, Dunn began to focus on social causes that are important to him, notably those effecting the LGBTQI community, homophobia in sport, and HIV/AIDS.[11] Whilst in London Dunn appeared on Sky News to debate comments made by professional rugby player, Israel Folau,[12] also being the face of a national HIV test campaign with charity, Terrence Higgins Trust,[13] along with testing for HIV live online.

Since returning to Sydney, Dunn has continued with this work. Being announced as an ambassador for GiveOUT Day, which aims to help LGBTIQ+ projects and community groups.[14] Dunn also became an ambassador for Bobby Goldsmith Foundation in 2020. Bobby Goldsmith Foundation (BGF) is Australia's longest running HIV charity.

Media appearances

Dunn attracted a strong social media following and in July 2015, he created a YouTube channel. Being noticed and featured on BuzzFeed,[15] Dunn appeared in Attitude magazine's Naked Issue.[16] With his popularity among readers he was also later voted in number 1 of the magazine's annual Hot 100 list.[17] Since the start of 2016, Dunn has appeared in hundreds of media publications, including print, online, radio and television. Dunn has graced the cover of several print media magazines,[18][19][20] around the world.

In 2020, he appeared in the documentary film Steelers: The World's First Gay Rugby Club by Eammon Ashton-Atkinson, alongside Steve Brockman and Nic Evans.[21][22]

References

  1. ^ Akerston, Matt. "Australia's first gay bobsledder sleighs 'em". samesame.com.au. Retrieved 17 November 2014.
  2. ^ ONLINE, DNA (22 October 2019). "Simon Dunn Heats Up Winter For DNA Magazine". dnamagazine.com.au/. Retrieved 22 October 2019.
  3. ^ a b Growden, Greg (30 March 2016). "Simon Dunn living sports dream only after enduring personal hell". espn.co.uk. Retrieved 10 February 2017.
  4. ^ a b Elias Jahshan (Editor) Star Observer Magazine April 2014, p. 17, at Google Books
  5. ^ a b Guiltenane, Christian (10 November 2016). "Exclusive Interview: Simon Dunn Reveals Some Shocking News!". guyslikeu.com. Retrieved 10 February 2017.
  6. ^ Guiltenane, Christian (19 April 2016). "Kings Cross Steelers Hunk Marc Landon: 'I Met My Boyfriend on the Team!'". guyslikeu.com. Retrieved 17 May 2017.
  7. ^ "Sports Personality". Archived from the original on 3 March 2018. Retrieved 2 March 2018.
  8. ^ "Gays With Kids". www.gayswithkids.com. Archived from the original on 10 March 2018.
  9. ^ Scott, Duncan (29 July 2021). "Simon Dunn Announces Return To Bobsleigh And Journey To 2022 Winter Olympics". DNA. Retrieved 26 December 2021.
  10. ^ Scott, Duncan (19 November 2021). "DNA Alumni, Simon Dunn, Suffers Injury On Path To Winter Olympics". DNA. Retrieved 26 December 2021.
  11. ^ "Simon Dunn: 'I wish Keegan and Sam had been there when I was growing up'". September 2015. Retrieved 5 July 2016.
  12. ^ Guiltenane, Christian (27 April 2018). "SIMON DUNN: "HOMOPHOBIC RUGBY STAR ISRAEL FOLAU SHOULD BE BANNED FOR HIS COMMENTS!". guyslikeu.com. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
  13. ^ ONLINE, DNA (23 November 2018). "Simon Dunn Talks HIV Testing Week". dnamagazine.com.au. Archived from the original on 25 November 2018. Retrieved 23 November 2018.
  14. ^ Day, GiveOUT. "We are thrilled to have some amazing representatives from the Australian LGBTIQ+ community on board for GiveOUT Day 2020". giveout.org.au. Retrieved 23 March 2020.
  15. ^ "Community Post: Meet Simon Dunn, The First Out Gay Bobsledder". BuzzFeed Community. Retrieved 17 March 2016.
  16. ^ "Simon Dunn: Attitude Naked Issue 2015". Attitude Magazine. 6 February 2015. Retrieved 17 March 2016.
  17. ^ "Meet Attitude's HOT 100 winner, Aussie bobsledder Simon Dunn". Attitude Magazine. 21 July 2015. Retrieved 17 March 2016.
  18. ^ Kennedy, John R. "Australian rugby player turns to bobsleigh in Calgary with eye on 2018 Olympics". Global News. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
  19. ^ Kennedy, John R. "Calgary's Simon Dunn named hottest man in the world". Global News. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
  20. ^ "Australian bobsledder living in Calgary named 'World's Hottest Man' by UK magazine". Calgary Sun. Archived from the original on 19 August 2015. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
  21. ^ Smith, Mark (19 April 2021). "'Finding this community is huge': story of world's first gay rugby team captured on film". Evening Standard. Retrieved 30 August 2021.
  22. ^ "Excited to announce I'm in Steelers Documentary a film on the @KXSteelers". Twitter. 18 February 2020. Retrieved 30 August 2021.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Simon_Dunn&oldid=1114757082"