The only gay man in the Beijing Olympic village, Aussie gold medallist diver Matthew Mitcham, has said it was a "little bit sad" that he was the sole out and proud 'mo.

Mitcham told his first post-Olympics press conference in Sydney that he understands why it can be harder for other athletes to come out publicly.

"I was actually very surprised I was the only 'out' male [of 10,500 athletes] at the Olympic Games," Mitcham said.

"It's a little bit sad I think, because statistically there should be a lot more but, you know what, it's each to one's own. I'm not going to pressure anybody else to come out of the closet because it's their own choice. But I'm proud to be there, proud to be that one, that lots of other people can look up to," Mitcham told the gathered media.

Speaking of the financial burden of mounting an Olympic campaign and his hopes for sponsorships post-Beijing, Mitcham said, "Money was a huge stress leading into the Olympics for two years and for that to not be a massive burden on me leading into the next Olympics would be nice. But that's an ideal world and who knows what's going to happen."

Mitcham has watched his medal winning performance and even he finds it edge-of-your-seat exciting. "Well, I've watched the footage from the Olympics I think two or three times since it happened and I think even I find it pretty exciting. Like I'm watching it, I know what happens and I know what happens at the end but I'm still rocking there going 'Come on, come on.'" (source www.dnamagazine.com.au)