For most sports fans, Mark Foster was one of Britain’s greatest swimmers.
To himself, however, he says he was living two completely different lives.
In his new autobiography My Double Life, Foster reflects on the emotional burden of hiding his sexuality throughout much of his elite sporting career.
The former swimmer became one of Britain’s most decorated athletes during a career spanning more than two decades.
He competed at five Olympic Games, won six World Championship titles, collected 11 European titles and broke eight world records.
Despite those achievements, Foster says he spent years carefully separating his public image from his private life.
Speaking on BBC Breakfast to mark the publication of his book, he recalled first recognising his attraction to men when he was around 10 years old after watching Sean Connery in a James Bond film.
When family members laughed at his comments, Foster says he quickly decided those feelings needed to disappear.
That decision shaped much of his adult life.
Although he had long-term relationships with men away from the spotlight, he kept his personal life almost entirely separate from his sporting career.
He describes creating two identities: one for competition and another for home.
Foster publicly came out in 2017 at the age of 47 after years of media speculation about his sexuality.
He later explained that many of the people closest to him already knew, but making that part of his life public still felt daunting.
Today, Foster hopes his autobiography will encourage conversations about the pressures LGBTQ+ athletes can still face, particularly in elite sport where expectations around masculinity have often discouraged openness.
He says the book is ultimately about freedom rather than regret.
Looking back, Foster believes success in sport did not erase the emotional cost of hiding such an important part of himself.
His story offers a reminder that even athletes standing on the world’s biggest stages can carry private struggles that remain invisible to everyone else.
Want to read Mark Foster’s full story? His autobiography, My Double Life, is available here.
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