Episode 35 of the Outfield Podcast features Tim Koleto, 2022 Olympic Silver Medalist for Japan in team figure skating who is someone I’ve wanted to interview on this show for a long time and finally got to do. We go over a lot of interesting stuff in this show including:
7:00: Getting into figure skating as a child and realizing that it could become a career
13:30: The crazy injury that changed his career
20:30: Understanding his queerness through a trip to conversion therapy (content warning)
33:30: Finally making it to the Olympics, but the weirdest Olympics of them all
44:30: Not having a medal ceremony until Paris 2024
52:10: Coming out stories to friends and family and eventually publicly
58:00: A truly great discussion on Tim not seeing himself in the out male figure skaters of his youth, and a discussion on what being bisexual is for both of us
1:06:30: Tim’s thoughts on two male Japanese volleyball players coming out
1:11:00: The mandatory Heated Rivalry question!
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Intro and outro music is “Thinking It Over” by Lee Rosevere, from his album “Music for Podcasts 5”: https://freemusicarchive.org/music/lee-rosevere/music-for-podcasts-beats/thinking-it-over/
