With the Olympics opening tonight, Southern Voce explores the event and gay jocks who have taken part. Included in the cover story is an interview with Bruce Hayes (photo), the former Atlantan who won gold in the 1984 Games.

“I think I had the same kind of fears that anyone coming out has, particularly since it was 24 years ago, but I think the environment actually made it worse,” Hayes said. “When you’re in an athletic environment, when you live in that environment year-round, there’s just not a comfort level of coming out and sharing that kind of information with people.”

A closeted Olympian who won silver in 2004 also speaks out. And the paper includes a story on what gay tourists and athletes can expect in Beijing. The Beijing Games offers six openly gay athletes who will join the list of 19 former Olympians who are gay.