January 1 this year Andrzej Stękała made a coming out. The Polish jumper told about his sexual orientation and issued a statement in social media. “For years I lived in the shadow of fear, in hiding. I want you to get to know me The jumper was in a relationship since 2016 with a partner named Damian, but in November 2024 the man died.
“He was my refuge, support, my biggest fan. Together, we shared my life, passions, joys and difficult moments. He was everything for me – my home, my heart. We loved silence, hiding our love from the world” – he added Stęka The world of jumping reacted to the coming out was groaning – the comments towards Andrzej were published by Halvor Egner Granierud, Maciej Kot and Paweł Wąsek.
– I knew quite a long time ago, but this is his private matter and there was no reason to speak or engage without Andrzej's knowledge. Before this message, which showed up in the media, I talked to Andrzej. He asked about the approval of the union. He knows that we have nothing to do with this, because this is his life and his affairs. I keep my fingers crossed for him – said Adam Małysz, president of the Polish Ski Association.
March 23 this year Stękała published another emotional entry, summarizing the 24/25 season. “The worst season in my life behind me. Every leap hurt. Every leap reminded. Everyone missed. Every jump was dedicated to Damian. I did everything to jump as well as possible, but it was hard to give up to 100 percent jumps. Fortunately, somehow I managed to get through this season and I hope that everything would slowly come back to the right track,” he wrote.
She was gone, he didn't want to brake. “You have to treat alcoholism, not orientation”
Now, the stroke gave an interview to the portal WP SportoweFakty. The jumper told how more precisely his season looked after the death of his partner. – It was the worst season. It started terrible, I couldn't focus on training at all. I did not approach sport one hundred percent because it was simply impossible. Jumping ceased to be a priority for me. Later I treated them a bit like a mere occupation – he said.
Stękała revealed that he wanted to end his career in 2016 when he met his partner. – I wanted to end up jumping. Something began to happen between us and I thought that where I was for sport, since I have a guy. Gay? What will people say? How will the fans and the environment react? They will probably laugh at me. I didn't want to face it. But Damian always supported me – added the jumper.
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Stękała also talked about how homosexuals are perceived in society. – Sorry to see how in public discussion there is talk about such people like me – that we are detachable and we have to treat us. In my opinion, alcoholism must be treated, not sexual orientation. I felt sorry when someone on television gave wisdom that I had no right to have a family – he said. Currently, she was working with a psychologist.
How did the fans react to the coming out jumper? – The proportions were: 90 percent support, 10 percent hate. The fans even accosted me on the hill. They said, “applause for courage.” I received a lot of positive comments on the internet. The reception of my coming out was great. I looked at these various entries, still with spelling errors … Oh, you can't even write the word correctly, and you are blushing that I am a freak – he concluded.
This season, she struck mainly in the Continental Cup and in Fis Cup. In the Continental Cup, Stękała scored 74 points in fourteen competitions and took the 50th place in the general classification.