Curdin Orlik (born 5 February 1993) is a Swiss professional wrestler who competes in

Schwingen (from German language, German ' "to swing"), also known as Swiss wrestling (French ') and natively (and colloquially) as ' (Swiss German for "breeches-lifting"), is a style of folk wrestling native to Switzerland, more specifically the Prealps, ...

(a type of

folk wrestling A folk wrestling style is any traditional style of wrestling, which may or may not be codified as a modern sport. Most cultures have developed regional forms of grappling. Europe Britain Traditionally wrestling has two main centres in Great ...

native to Switzerland), and an

agronomist An agriculturist, agriculturalist, agrologist, or agronomist (abbreviated as agr.) is a professional in the science, practice, and management of agriculture and agribusiness. It is a regulated profession in Canada, India, the Philippines, the Uni ...

. Orlik

came out Coming out of the closet, often shortened to coming out, is a metaphor used to describe LGBTQ people's self-disclosure of their sexual orientation, romantic orientation, or gender identity. This is often framed and debated as a privacy issue, ...

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late ...

in March 2020, making him the first athlete in the sport of

to come out as gay, and also the first openly gay male active in Swiss professional sports.

Early life and career

Orlik was raised in Landquart,

Grisons The Grisons (; ) or Graubünden (),Names include: * ; *Romansh language, Romansh: ** ** ** ** ** **; * ; * ; * . See also list of European regions with alternative names#G, other names. more formally the Canton of the Grisons or the Canton ...

. He is the brother of wrestler Armon Orlik. Orlik competes in

, a form of folk wrestling that is native to

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

. Orlin was named "Schwinger of the Week" by the Swiss magazine '' Schlussgang'' in May 2019. So far in his wrestling career he has been awarded thirty-five wreaths and has won five festivals. In 2019 he ranked twenty-fourth in the Eidgenössischer Schwingerverband. He also works as an

Personal life

Orlik was previously married to a woman, with whom he has a son. They later separated. He is the first athlete in the sport of Schwingen to come out as gay and also the first openly gay male active in Swiss professional sports, after having come out in March 2020.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Orlik, Curdin Living people 1993 births Gay sportsmen LGBTQ sport wrestlers Swiss LGBTQ sportspeople People from Landquart District Swiss agronomists Swiss male sport wrestlers LGBTQ professional wrestlers 21st-century Swiss LGBTQ people 21st-century Swiss sportsmen