Ari-Pekka Liukkonen

Ottesen and Pedersen Headline the North Sea Swim Meet

Full Name:	Ari-Pekka Liukkonen
Born:	February 09th, 1989
	Pieksämäki, Finland
Nationality:	Finland
Status:	Active

Ari-Pekka Liukkonen Born Feb. 9, 1989 Ari-Pekka Liukkonen is a Finnish Olympic swimmer and the current Finnish record holder in the 50m freestyle. Liukkonen was born in the Finnish town of Pieksämäki, and he currently swims for Esto Cetusta with Coach Marko Malvela. Standing 6'10" Liukkonen is very tall, and he's sponsored by the sprint-favorite, Arena. First openly gay elite Finnish male athlete He used his stance as an elite athlete to bring awareness to social issues that hit close to home. In Feb. 2014 Liukkonen came out as gay in order to protest Russia's anti-gay legislation and treatment of LGBTI people during the Sochi Olympics. Media declared his out to be gutsy, considering that he was at the top of his swimming game. But he became the first openly gay elite Finnish male sportsperson while still in competition. That same year he was honored as the Sports Role Model of the Year - he was selected by a group of 25 people that represent all levels of sport in Finland. Liukkonen is an avid writer on his blog. Quick rise to success Liukkonen competed at the 2010 Short Course European Championships, where he finished in the top eight of both the 50m and 100m freestyles. After his first major …