When the Olympic flame shines in London, there will be a Pride House to welcome the LGBT community for the first time ever at a Summer Olympics.
"The [UK] gay sports community is well established and has been growing since our first clubs formed back in the 1980s and 1990s," said Chris Morgan, arguably England's most accomplished LGBT athlete. He not only has won six gold medals at the quadrennial Gay Games, but also is a multi-time medal-winner in the World Drug-Free Powerlifting Federation, has won seven British Championships, and much more.
"Soccer, rugby [and] swimming appear to be the most popular [within the U.K. LGBT community,] with many smaller clubs now forming nationwide. LGBT sports [in the United Kingdom are] even represented outside of major cities, [such as] soccer teams in remote places like Devon, where I live."
Morgan, 39, lives in Exeter, Devon. The openly gay athlete manages a firm of financial advisers.
"I retired from full powerlifting competitions at [the] Gay Games in Cologne, [Germany in] 2010," said Morgan, who has participated in such events as squat, bench press and deadlift.
"I now only compete in single-event deadlift competitions. I'm training in a different way, having fun with it and enjoying winning some big titles while my body still allows."
Last year, Morgan won the overall "best lifter" title at the British Deadlift Championships, as well as in 2010. In addition, in 2011 he won the overall "best lifter" at the European Deadlift Championships in Estonia.
In early 2012, Morgan defended his British deadlift title, and will participate in the World "Single Event" Championships in France (June) and the European "Single Event" Championships in Switzerland (September).
"It would be nice to regain my world deadlift title after illness and injury prevented me from competing in the World [Championships] last year," Morgan said. "I'm really looking forward to the Olympics and have tickets for my own weight class in weightlifting, which is a related sport to my own."
Morgan will simply be a spectator at the Summer Olympics, but already is pumpedwith tickets to several events already in hand.
"I have tickets for [a] Great Britain soccer game at Wembley [Stadium], the women's 69-kilo class weightlifting and [the] men's 77-kilo class weightlifting," he said.
Morgan, in February, published a history of British LGBT Sport in celebration of LGBT History Month.
"LGBT History Month asked me to help launch their 2012 campaign, and as part of this they wanted to document the history of British sport in a timeline," he said. "I realized that I was one of the few people [who] have been involved long enough to remember things as they happened and offer an independent view of what happened. As with all my work for charities and good causes, my work is always linked with my role as a global ambassador for the Federation of Gay Games.
"I'm currently supporting LGBT History Month, The Justin Campaign and the UK Government's Charter against Homophobia and Transphobia in Sport."
Through his research, Morgan said he learned how many of the UK sports clubs started to form in the 1980s after returning from the first two Gay Games in 1982 and 1986.
"Gay sports [have] grown from tiny acorns in the 1980s to the visibility and voice we have today," Morgan said. "I'm proud to be part of the Gay Games movement that formed the foundations of what gay sports people have today."
Morgan said he doesn't know if he will compete in the 2014 Gay Games in Cleveland.
"It really depends on the powerlifting events that are offered in Cleveland and whether I can be of use helping the Federation of Gay Games," he said.
Morgan is active with The UK Governments Charter against Homophobia and Transphobia in Sport, which already has signed the English Football Association, the Rugby Football Union, the Lawn Tennis Association, the Rugby Football League, Premiership Soccer, and the England and Wales Cricket Board.
"The Sports Charter is making a huge difference to LGBT sports by engaging with governing bodies and team management on our behalf."
Morgan's role within the Federation of Gay Games is to inspire and motivate young gay athletes worldwide, he said. His Gay Games profile is at www.gaygames.com/index.php?id=45
To view the UK LGBT History Month Sports Timeline, from 1976—2012, go towww.lgbthistoryuk.org/wiki/index.php.