After the death of his partner
Ski jumper Stękała with an emotional coming out
02/01/2025 – 11:01 a.mReading time: 2 min.
A few months ago he lost his life partner. Now ski jumper Andrzej Stękała is movingly making his homosexuality public – also in memory of his ex-partner.
Polish ski jumper Andrzej Stękała has made his homosexuality public after the death of his partner. The 29-year-old appealed for respect with an emotional message on Instagram. “For a long time I wondered if I would ever find the strength to write these words. For years I have lived in secret, afraid that I would lose what I worked so hard for,” Stękała wrote under a video .
And further: “I want you to really get to know me. I’m gay. For years I hid it from the world – from you, from the media and sometimes even from myself.”
He no longer wanted that, the athlete explained: “I am me – a man who has loved and still loves. And I know that he would want me to live in peace with myself. Please understand and respect that. My story deserves light, not shadow.”
Stękała’s partner, whom he met in 2016, died in November. The 29-year-old emphasized that he wanted to stand by himself for the sake of this: “Every day without him is a struggle, but at the same time it is a reminder of how endlessly I loved and how much I was loved. I know that he want me to continue to live in harmony with myself. I will carry his name in my heart until the end of my days.”
The move comes at a time when the situation for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI+) people in Poland remains difficult, according to Amnesty International, the world’s largest human rights movement.
The ski jumper is not taking part in the Four Hills Tournament this season. In the 2023/24 World Cup season he has only been able to start in Wisla, where he was eliminated twice in qualifying. Stękała experienced his most successful time in the 2020/21 season when he surprisingly reached sixth place overall on the tour. His greatest successes include the bronze medals with the Polish team at the 2021 World Cup and the 2020 Ski Flying World Cup.