Gus Kenworthy Breaks Thumb at Olympics 2018 Practice, Jokes He Can't Shake Mike Pence's Hand

Gus Kenworthy is keeping a positive outlook after breaking his thumb ahead of his 2018 Winter Olympics debut.

The 26-year-old skier took to Twitter on Thursday (February 15) to reveal he broke his thumb at practice, and shared that because of it he won’t have to shake Vice President Mike Pence‘s hand because of it.

“Broke my thumb yesterday in practice. It won’t stop me from competing (obvi) but it does prevent me from shaking Pence’s hand so… Silver linings! Will be giving my teammates (and literally everyone else) an enthusiastic “thumbs up!” of encouragement the rest of the trip,” Gus tweeted along with an X-ray of his thumb.

Gus – who came out as gay in 2015 – and figure skater Adam Rippon are two of the only openly gay athletes competing for Team USA at the Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

Gus and Adam have been extremely vocal in their criticism of Pence being selected to lead the United States’ delegation in South Korea despite his strong anti-LGBTQ views.

Gus will compete in the slopestyle competition on Sunday, February 18.