New Zealand nearly made one of the strongest political statements on the international sporting stage at the Winter Olympics in Sochi, but unfortunately for human rights activists, supporters of gay rights, LGBT athletes, and openly gay short track speed skater Blake Skjellerup, he missed qualifying by one slot.
There are only six openly gay athletes (all female) attending the Olympics in Russia, which passed anti-gay legislation last year. Having one openly gay male athlete in the mix as well would have made an even stronger statement.
If we wanted to reinforce our reputation as a nation that punches above its weight in sport but also upholds human rights, this would have been a great moment for us to do so.
I'm not suggesting Skjellerup should have been considered a ''special case'' to be included in the New Zealand team, but many were hoping he could make the grade, and he came so close, which makes his omission even tougher to take.
There is lots of research to suggest that, for men in sport, coming out of the closet while still competing, especially in hyper-masculine team sports, is difficult.
In 2013, the announcement that a current NFL player was going to announce his homosexuality with the support of the team that contracted him caused such a response from within the sport that fear quickly drove the athlete and his team back into the cupboard of silence.
How significant would it have been for gay rights if Skjellerup did participate and took the risk of not only skating around a track at high speeds, but taking on Putin and the law he pushed through that bans the promotion of ''non-traditional sexual relations'' to those under 18?
In a nutshell, the law effectively stops gay rights protests or expressions of pride (and love?) in public places and has led to heightened homophobia and increased social stigma and discrimination towards the Russian gay community.
If you believe the words of Sochi mayor Anatoly Pakhomov, there are no gay people in Sochi, and if there were, he ''didn't bloody know them''.
After composing himself, he then went on to reiterate that gay people would be welcome at the Olympics as long as they respected the laws of the Russian Federation, kept their ''business'' and ''life'' to themselves and didn't impose their habits on others.
Putin also piped up with reassurance that homosexuals would be welcome in Sochi as long as they ''leave the children alone'' and don't advertise homosexuality and paedophilia to the masses.
The clumsy attempts of Putin and Pakhomov to appease international audiences has only reinforced how draconian Russian laws have become under Putin's authoritarian style.
Just ask the punk band Pussy Riot, whose members were imprisoned for two years for hooliganism when they performed a song and dance that attacked Putin inside a cathedral.
If any of the athletes made a political gesture or statement criticising Russia's anti-gay legislation, that would have an impact that goes beyond sport.
Many will recall the non-violent protest against black oppression in the United States by 200m gold and bronze medallists Tommie Smith and John Carlos at the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City, and Cathy Freeman's gesture of running with the Aboriginal flag after her 400m victory at the 2000 Games in Sydney.
It takes a brave athlete to make such a gesture, and sometimes they may not realise their gesture is construed as political. Was Freeman just expressing her pride as an Aboriginal Australian, or was she demanding greater rights for Aborigines in general?
Like All Blacks who refused to tour South Africa during the apartheid era, will any of the 15 New Zealand athletes take a stand against Russia's anti-gay stance?Their decision to attend the Games suggests they probably won't, and considering that 12 of them are first-time Olympians, that is understandable.
The combination of excitement about representing New Zealand at an Olympic event with a vague understanding of the fight for gay rights may not move any of them to act ''out''.
Then again, many of the sports included at the Winter Olympics have anti-establishment roots. Maybe we'll see not only a sponsor's logo or fern at the bottom of a snowboard. Maybe, if we look close enough, we may see a rainbow struggling to push through the long white cloud of oppression.
