PRINCE WILLIAM HAILS GARETH:
‘Felt like an express train’
A RUGBY legend who has revealed he is HIV positive won praise from Prince William yesterday. Gareth Thomas, who won 100 caps for Wales, told fans of his diagnosis in an emotional video posted on Twitter on Saturday.
After the 45-year-old took part in an Ironman triathlon yesterday, William tweeted: ‘Courageous as ever – legend on the pitch and legend off it. You have our support Gareth. W.’
The prince is the royal patron of Welsh Rugby Union and a passionate supporter of its national team.
Thomas came out as gay in 2009 and is thought to be the first British sportsman to go public about the illness.
‘I am living with HIV,’ he told fans in the emotional clip. ‘ Now you have that information that makes me extremely vulnerable, but it does not make me weak.
‘Even though I have been forced to tell you this, I choose to fight, to educate and break the stigma around this subject.
‘And that begins today when I take on the toughest Ironman in the world in Tenby, and I push myself physically to the limit.’
Thomas – clearly moved by the support he received from onlookers – was one of hundreds of athletes who gathered on the start line for the Ironman Wales race in Pembrokeshire.
He successfully completed a 2.4mile swim in Carmarthen Bay, a 112- mile cycle ride and a full 26.2-mile marathon. Spectators at the event paid tribute to Thomas – nicknamed Alfie – and his courage.
Adam Davies, 45, from Swansea, said: ‘I only found out about his illness when I arrived here at six this morning. What a super hero this bloke is.’ Emma Barazia, 49, said: ‘ Gareth was a great rugby player but he’s going to be a bigger hero to so many people now. ‘He must be so tough mentally and physically to take part today.’
Thomas said he went public with his illness after blackmailers threatened to reveal his secret.
He told the Sunday Mirror: ‘I’ve been living with this secret for years. I’ve felt shame and keeping such a big secret has taken its toll.
‘I was in a dark place, feeling suicidal. I thought about driving off a cliff. Wanting to die was just a natural thought and felt like the easier way out, but you have to confront things.’ The former Cardiff Blues player and Lions captain scored 41 tries for Wales between 1995 and 2007, making him 13th on the all-time international list.
Thomas, who will be a TV pundit for the Rugby World Cup in Japan, said he broke down when he got his diagnosis: ‘I went for a routine sexual health test at a private clinic in Cardiff. I didn’t feel ill and thought everythat thing was going to be fine. When the doctor said those words ... I immediately thought I was going to die.
‘I felt like an express train was hitting me at 300mph. Then I was thinking “how long have I got left?”’
Thomas is on medication and doctors say his condition is under control to the extent that it is ‘undetectable’ and cannot be passed on. He said his husband Stephen, who he met after his diagnosis and married three years ago, does not have HIV. He said telling his parents – Yvonne 70, and Barry, 69 – ‘empowered’ him and he hopes his openness will help end the stigma around the condition. The Terrence Higgins Trust said Thomas’ story will ‘transform attitudes that are stuck in the 1980s’.
The HIV charity said: ‘Gareth is proof that an HIV diagnosis shouldn’t stop you from doing anything you want to do.
‘Gareth blazed a trail by being the first rugby player to come out as gay and has done so much to encourage inclusion and diversity within the sport.
‘Now he is doing that once again with HIV, showing that this virus doesn’t need to be a barrier when you’re diagnosed and accessing treatment.’