July 28, 2009
Out Olympian Boxer Mark Leduc Dies at 47
Kilian Melloy READ TIME: 2 MIN.
Openly gay Olympic boxer Mark Leduc, who won the silver for Canada in Barcelona in 1992, has died at the age of 47, according to media reports.
A July 24 Canwest News Service story carried at Canada.com said that Leduc had apparently collapsed in a hotel sauna in Toronto.
Leduc was found in the early hours of July 19. He was taken to a hospital, but died several days later, on July 22. The article said that medical authorities thought Leduc had suffered heat stroke.
The article sketched out how Leduc had begun boxing while serving a jail term for armed robbery. After his Olympic win, Leduc won Canada's super lightweight title and took the gold at the North American International Boxing Tournament.
Leduc then retired from boxing and came out as a gay athlete, the article noted.
Another gay Canadian Olympic medalist, swimmer Mark Tewksbury, who won the gold in 1992, was quoted as saying of Leduc's life, "There's a little bit of rebellion, in different ways, across the board," reported a July 24 article carried at CBCSports.ca.
Added Tewksbury, "That was part of his character, and it's probably what made him great."
Like Tewksbury, Leduc became a public speaker after retiring as an athlete, the article noted, adding that Teksbury and Leduc were both featured in documentaries on gay athletes "For the Love of the Game" and "The Last Closet."
Said Tewksbury of the issue of gay athletes, "In a perfect world, we wouldn't have to talk about these things.
"But in the world of boxing," added the gold-medalist, "it's a real rare person that's brave enough to speak openly about that and it shakes the system."
But conversation around the subject of gay athletes is essential to putting to myths and fears to rest. Added Tewksbury, "Before something becomes a non-issue, it has to be an issue, there's just no way around it."
Keduc's brother-in-law, Mark Johnson, was quoted in the Canwest article as saying, "Winning the silver Olympic medal meant the world to Mark and his family.
"He was shocked," Johnson added.
"I think he believed the reports they were saying that he wouldn't make it very far.
"But he could throw like an ox and hit like a mule."
Leduc was a GLBT equality advocate who also volunteered his time, serving the Toronto People with AIDS Foundation, the article reported.
Kilian Melloy serves as EDGE Media Network's Associate Arts Editor and Staff Contributor. His professional memberships include the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association, the Boston Online Film Critics Association, The Gay and Lesbian Entertainment Critics Association, and the Boston Theater Critics Association's Elliot Norton Awards Committee.
