Diver Tom Daley added a fourth gold to his Commonwealth haul, taking home the medal for the men’s synchronised 10-metre platform dive along with team-mate Dan Goodfellow. A longtime advocate for LGBT+ rights, Daley used the moment to highlight that many of the countries which made up the Commonwealth still had regressive views on equality.

““There are 37 countries where it’s illegal to be who I am out of all the Commonwealth so hopefully we can reduce that number,” he said. “Coming to the Gold Coast and being able to live as an openly gay man is really important in being able to feel comfortable with who you are when standing on that diving board.”

Daley is also due to compete at the World Diving Series which takes place in Russia in May, a country which is also known for its anti-LGBT+ views. Speaking of the upcoming visit, the diver admitted, “Going to Russia can be scary because you’ve got to compete in front of lots of people and lots of people know that I’ve got a husband,” He refused to let it stop hs plans, however, stating, “I think you’ve got to face those things and try and make change.”

Tom Daley is married to the screenwriter, Dustin Lance Black, who won an Oscar for penning Milk, the biopic of the gay politician. The couple announced in February they are expecting their first child.

While he admitted there was quite a bit of progress still to be made, he was hopeful for the future. “There’s lots of things that will take a long time to change but I feel like with the Commonwealth we could really help push some of the nations to relax their laws on anti-gay stuff.”

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?️‍? 37 of the competing nations criminalise being LGBT+. I feel so lucky to be able to be openly who I am without worry. I hope one day every athlete from every nation in the commonwealth will be free to compete openly as who they are too! ?️‍? pic.twitter.com/ry4GPiZhdB

— Tom Daley (@TomDaley1994) April 13, 2018

He followed later with a tweet, “37 of the competing nations criminalize being LGBT+. I feel so lucky to be able to be openly who I am without worry. I hope one day every athlete from every nation in the commonwealth will be free to compete openly as who they are too.”