Tom Bosworth on his Olympic engagement, and the defeat that led to suicide attempts

Tom Bosworth, the gay Olympic race walker who is a favorite to compete in Tokyo, opened up about difficult times for himself and his relationship, as well as incredibly highs that took place at the Summer Games in Rio in 2016.

In the latest episode of the Five Rings To Rule Them All podcast, talked about the 2017 World Championships in London and his disqualification while leading the race on his home turf. The embarrassment of his failure in the race led him to a very dark place where suicidal thoughts crept in.

“I was in that bubble of failure,” Bosworth says on the podcast. “I was going out partying and I was pushing my family away. I was treating [my fiancé] Harry awfully. He’d seen me come from a very average athlete to winning races and competing at the highest level. And I treated him the worst of anybody. I didn’t realize how far away from me I was getting, how I was digging myself into some awful holes.”

Bosworth has come back out the other side of all that, and now he’s taking aim at a spot at the Summer Olympics in Tokyo next year.

You can listen to the entire conversation with Tom Bosworth below, or at one of these links: Spotify, Spreaker, Castbox & Player FM.