---
title: "First openly gay swimmer to compete for Estonia"
id: "24318"
type: "post"
slug: "first-openly-gay-swimmer-compete-estonia"
published_at: "2017-05-12T01:12:04+00:00"
modified_at: "2017-10-06T06:51:03+00:00"
url: "https://estonianworld.com/life/first-openly-gay-swimmer-compete-estonia/"
markdown_url: "https://estonianworld.com/life/first-openly-gay-swimmer-compete-estonia.md"
excerpt: "Ayrton Kasemets, a 21-year-old Estonian-American openly gay swimmer from Chicago is to compete at the World University Games in August in Taipei, the capital of […]"
taxonomy_category:
  - "Life"
taxonomy_post_tag:
  - "LGBTQ"
  - "Sport"
taxonomy_post_format:
  - ""
publisher: "Estonian World"
language: "en-GB"
author: "Sten Hankewitz"
author_url: "https://estonianworld.com/author/stenhankewitz/"
---

# First openly gay swimmer to compete for Estonia

![Image](https://estonianworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Ayrton-Kasemets-Jose-Juarez-Oakland-University-Athletics-1024x681.jpg)

By  [Sten Hankewitz](https://estonianworld.com/author/stenhankewitz/)
  ·  May 12, 2017  · [Life](https://estonianworld.com/category/life/)
 · 1 minute of reading

### Ayrton Kasemets, a 21-year-old Estonian-American openly gay swimmer from Chicago is to compete at the World University Games in August in Taipei, the capital of Taiwan.

The World University Games, also called Universiade, is a multinational sporting event held every other year. This year’s games are expected to draw athletes from 150 countries.

For Ayrton Kasemets, a Chicago native and both an American and an Estonian citizen, this is his first Universiade. And in addition to representing Estonia at the games, according to outsports.com, he is also happy to represent the LGBT community.

[https://estonianworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Ayrton-Kasemets-at-Chicago-Pride-Outsports.jpg](https://estonianworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Ayrton-Kasemets-at-Chicago-Pride-Outsports.jpg)

“I have always wanted to compete on an international level and these games are a great way to represent my country and university,” Kasemets told another website, chicago.gopride.com. “I am very proud, honored to be selected. It has been a dream of mine for many years to compete at an international meet at the level such as this one.”

Kasemets graduated from Mundelein High School in Illinois and has just completed his junior year at Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan. He came out as gay in 2014 in [an article on outsports.com](http://www.outsports.com/2015/9/10/9252271/ayrton-kasemets-gay-swimmer-oakland)
.

I

Cover: Ayrton Kasemets (photo by Jose Juarez/Oakland University Athletics.)

## About The Author

![Avatar photo](https://estonianworld.com/wp-content/uploads/local-avatars/15/1707599474-bpfull-100x100.jpg)

[Sten Hankewitz](https://estonianworld.com/author/stenhankewitz/)
Sten Hankewitz is a lifelong journalist and the Executive Editor at Estonian World. Having lived in Estonia, Spain, the UK and all around the US, he now resides in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. He loves to write and besides working at Estonian World, he [writes books](https://estonianworld.com/culture/the-grand-illusion-estonian-worlds-sten-hankewitz-publishes-a-novel-about-growing-up-in-the-soviet-union/)
 and contributes to other outlets. He has strong convictions and shows them unashamedly. You can follow Sten on [Threads](https://www.threads.net/@stenhankewitz)
, [X](https://twitter.com/stenhankewitz)
 and [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/shankewitz/)
. You can also [email him](mailto:sten@estonianworld.com)
.