My Double Life

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A01=Mark Foster
athlete
Author_Mark Foster
autobiography
BBC
biography
Category=DNBS1
Category=DNC
Category=SPCS
champion
Clare Balding
coming out
commonwealth games
diversity
eq_bestseller
eq_biography-true-stories
eq_isMigrated=1
eq_isMigrated=2
eq_nobargain
eq_non-fiction
eq_sports-fitness
equality
forthcoming
gay
homophobia
homosexual
homosexuality
Ian Thorpe
inclusion
John Amaechi
Kelly Holmes
LGBTQ+
Martina Navratilova
medallist
Olympic Games
Olympics
rebecca adlington
record
sport
sporting
strictly
strictly come dancing
swimmer
Swimming
Tom Daley
World

Product details

  • ISBN 9781399425162
  • Dimensions: 153 x 234mm
  • Publication Date: 02 Jul 2026
  • Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
  • Publication City/Country: GB
  • Product Form: Hardback
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'As gripping as Mark's greatest races' – Zoe Ball
'Incredibly brave and uplifting' – Rebecca Adlington

The moving story of one of Britain’s best-loved sportsmen, and his thirty-year coming out journey

WITH A FOREWORD BY CLARE BALDING

As a five-time Olympian, six-time World Champion and eight-time World Record holder, if anyone was going to be openly gay at the height of their sporting career it should have been swimmer Mark Foster – a confident, laid-back guy who doesn’t care what anyone thinks. So why did it take him half a lifetime to come out?

From a Southend Jack-the-lad expelled from one of the most prestigious schools in the country to becoming the fastest man through water on the planet and a television favourite, Mark’s journey is extraordinary. With humour and honesty, he takes readers through his unprecedented 20-year career in the pool and shows how he hid his sexuality for so long – and convinced himself he was happy doing so.

Alongside his sporting achievements, Mark recounts his glittering appearance on Strictly Come Dancing, his growing broadcasting career and the other-worldliness of being an Olympian in the public eye. But his experience makes us stop and reassess where we really are in terms of society’s approach to homosexuality and diversity in sport.

Inspiring and moving, My Double Life is the tale of one man’s pursuit of sporting prowess and finding the freedom to live his truth.

Mark Foster is an English former competitive swimmer, broadcaster and public speaker. He is a five-time Olympian, six-time World Champion and eight-time World Record holder over a 23-year professional swimming career. Foster trains and inspires the next generation of competitive swimmers through the Mark Foster Swimming Academy and is also a spokesperson for the LGBTQ+ community, promoting compassion, equality and inclusion. @markfosterswim

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