Ссылка на оригинальную статью www.hs.fi/nyt/art-2000005867030.html

Наш сайт благодарит Анну B за перевод статьи на английский язык. Thank you to Anna W from Helsinki for tranlation of this articl into English. 

 "Olympic medalist Adam Rippon is a beloved gay icon who pissed off  Donald Trump's son - now he tells how he got to know his Finnish boyfriend accidentally"  Rippon became the Finns' favorite son-in-law last spring when it became  public that he's dating Finnish real estate agent J-P Kajaala. At the olympics this year Rippon was one of the most internationally followed athletes already before winning a medal. HS (a newspaper in Finland) also previously wrote about his worldwide fame. After the olympics Rippon got more and more media attention. Some words on DWTS...

At the same time people in Finland became interested in Rippon for  another reason. Last April he published the first pic of himself  together with Kajaala. The media became interested. Rippon confirmed to  the People magazine that he's dating  Kajaala. In Finland the attention had another side too. American world  famous star and olympic medalist is dating a Finn! It was a bit like a  retake of the news that got enormous media attention years ago, when  American pop star Adam Labert dated Finnish TV host Sauli Koskinen. Just  like Lambert and Koskinen also Rippon and Kajaala have talked about  their relationship very little in public. Rippon has told to People  magazine that they intend to move together in California where Rippon  lives. Problems with getting a visa are slowing things down.

Talking about Finland... What I love about Finland is that you can walk around everywhere. I love coming here. I've never been to a sauna, Rippon says. Kajaala laughs and says they'll have to do it later on.

We met on Tinder exactly a year ago Rippon says. It was when a fs competition was held in Espoo and he competed there. "I was very focused on the competition... That's why I spent time on Tinder" Rippon says and starts to laugh. Rippon has become famous for this kind of self ironic and funny comments in the US.


Some words about dedicating his oly medal to his mom and Reese W...  On youtube Rippon makes videos for Cosmopolitan and tells for example that the Kardashians are the royalty in the US.
Rippon has something exceptional. Not many figure skaters, especially male skaters have managed to make the headlines with an Oscar outfit. Talking about Adam at the Oscars...

Rippon says that when Kajaala messaged him for the first time Kajaala thought that Adam just wants attention on instagram. Kajaala laughs. "Olympics was a crazy time. J-P wrote to me just like nothing (olympics) was going on. In a way it was awesome. I knew that he really likes me the way I am. On the other hand I was thinking does he have any clue what is going on." Both start to laugh.

When Rippon started to message with Kajaala on Tinder a year ago he  didn't expect that they would stay in touch anymore during the olympics.  Neither did he expect that he would be sitting now with Kajaala in a  Finnish restaurant. Not even though he became exceptionally interested  in Kajaala already in the beginning.  "J-P was charmy and funny which is really difficult to be in a few  messages, but he was good at it. After the olympics we didn't however  message for a few weeks because it would have felt weird. I was thinking  that I would never return to Finland."  Now Rippon has visited Finland already several times and he has praised  Helsinki often to his followers on instagram. Adam's favorite places in  Helsinki are Löyly (a restaurant with a sauna), Hotel Clarion and  Kauppatori (main marketplace). He took photos of the marketplace a year  ago because he thought it was the  only time he would visit the place.  "When I think about what happened a year ago it feels crazy how many  things have changed since then."  After a few weeks' break in staying in touch Rippon and Kajaala started  to message again. Gradually they started to communicate more often. Then  last April the couple decided to publish a photo of the two of them  together. Both knew that it would lead to many articles. "I'm very  thankful that we got to know each other before the olympics and before  all this crazy media attention. It makes our relationship totally  different" Rippon says.

For Rippon it's no longer possible to avoid media attention. Biggest  reason for this is his position as one of the most visible openly gay  atheletes.

Some words about how being gay is a taboo in team sports and why it's more  difficult for a hockey player to talk openly about sexuality than it is  for a figure skater. "I'm in a totally different situation than a team  athlete. When I compete  i'm there all by myself. In team sports it's important that other team  players trust you. That's why I think it's more difficult to come out.  They don't want that anyone in the team thinks differently about them.  At the same time I however think that they're not true to themselves. If  you're not openly yourself, you don't know yourself entirely. And how  can anyone trust  you if you don't know yourself entirely?

For Rippon to come out wasn't self evident. There's still fear (in  general) that a male figure skater can be bullied. Fear of being called  gay. That's why straight men in figure skating are in  a different position. People want to nurture an image that also straight  men can do figure skating.  Rippon told about his sexuality in 2015. One major factor was that he  didn't make the 2014 oly team. Coming out can be scary for a top athlete  but I don't think I was the best version of myself as an athlete until I  came out. It's essential that you can respond to your doubters with  your own performances. If someone says  that you're weaker because you're gay you can always reply "yeah but I'm  better than you".  Rippon says that his mom warned him about coming out publicly. His mom  believed that it could have an impact on how for example judges think of  him. However Rippon decided to come out partly because he wanted to be  an example to others.


Had there been some openly gay athlete when I was young, I would have  probably felt more comfortable.  Regardless, Rippon doesn't wanna be known only as a gay athlete or a gay  icon. He wants to be known as a successful athlete who is admired also  by those Americans who have never met any openly gay person. Adam wants  to be so nice that people simply cannot not like him.   Furthermore Rippon wants to bring his story to a more general level, so  that other gay people can associate with it. When my story became more  universal, many people realised that they have similar experiences. They  too have felt uncomfortable and feared that others don't like them.  Then they saw me, a guy who has had all kinds of difficulties but who  is now in the olympic team and who fights against the US president.

Rippon hasn't stopped making political comments after the olympics.  Some words about Trump, Clinton...  If Trump would be an olympic athlete he would be kicked out of the team.  I'm sure that such a cocky and mean person wouldn't be accepted to  represent the US at the olympics. It's a pity that he's our president.

The end.


Adam sure has received lots of attention in the Finnish media.