Kowalski, a four-time Olympic medal winner, told Fairfax he was "tired of living a lie".

"After what were literally years of torment, denial and very, very dark times, I couldn't live a lie to myself any more," he wrote in an article for Fairfax.

He joins a small list of athletes, including former rugby league star Ian Roberts and Olympic diving gold medallist Matthew Mitcham, who have come out.

The 1500m swimmer said he was inspired to come out after reading about former Welsh rugby captain Gareth Thomas, who announced his homosexuality in the British press late last year.

Kowalski told the newspaper he was so moved by Thomas's announcement that he contacted him, with the resulting conversations leaving him with mixed feelings — excited and relieved for Thomas but jealous as he was now "liberated and free".

"It really got me thinking that I could do that (come out) if I wanted to," he told the The Sunday Age.

"I felt really compelled to do it because it's very tough to live a closeted existence."

Kowalski told his family and friends that he was gay in 2006, three years after his career in the pool finished.

He said he hopes that his announcement will help other young athletes who are going through a similar experience.

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