Oakland Univ. swimmer Ayrton Kasemets received the school athletic department's Courage Award at its end-of-year awards program. Kasemets won the award for coming out to his teammates and then publicly on Outsports, becoming an inspiration to other athletes to be themselves.
"He's a wonderful young man," head swim coach Pete Hovland said in a tribute video to Kasemets (you can watch it above). "He's a great athlete. He's just a joy to be around. And I don't think people in our program even give it a second thought."
Kasemets just finished his sophomore year in college. Oakland Univ. is a powerhouse in the Horizon League, where the men's swimming and diving team has won 38 consecutive league championships. Kasemets had two top-15 finishes at the Horizon League championships, in the 100-meter breaststroke and the 200-meter breaststroke. Kasemets is part of the student-advisory committee for the Sports Equality Foundation. You can find him on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
