| A year ago, Nick Albiero agonized over how to share the message on social media that had long been on his mind. His family and most of his close friends – “everybody I knew and cared about,” he said – knew by that point that he was gay. They greeted his news with love, support and acceptance. But no longer hiding that facet of his identity from the wider world was a process the University of Louisville graduate felt he needed to do. Despite the nerves of his public coming out, the 25-year-old NCAA champion got a generally positive response. And his ability to live more authentically is something he hopes will benefit him in and out of the water on the road to the Paris Olympics. | 
