In a podcast, Irish track star Denis Finnegan announced he's gay.

Finnegan, a 33-year-old 10-time national track-and-field title winner in Ireland, said that he came out to help other LGBT athletes who are struggling with their sexuality.

“For younger people it will hopefully give them more confidence in what they’re doing,” Finnegan told host Cyd Zeigler on the “Five Things to Rule Them All” podcast. “There are still people who are scared or unsure of what’s happening, so I hope just telling my story might help one person notice there’s more acceptance out there.”

Finnegan said that he “always” knew he was gay and that he came out to his family and friends in 2012.

He added that being closeted hurt his performance in sports.

“It [being closeted] takes away from your physical performance,” Finnegan said. “You can't do sport properly from that point of view.”