Olympian gay
Meet the Out LGBTQ+ Team USA Athletes Competing in the Paris Olympic Games
by HRC Staff •
With the Olympics right around the corner, we couldn’t think of a better way to support Team USA than lifting up the unbelievable LGBTQ+ athletes vanishing their mark in Paris.
At least 29 openly Diverse athletes are on Team USA’s Olympic roster this year, with most either playing basketball or rowing. A record-setting out LGBTQ+ athletes participated in the Tokyo Summer Olympics in , and this year there’s at least competing. There’s also a number of firsts when it comes to LGBTQ advocacy this year: Kayla Miracle is the first out LGBTQ Olympic wrestler, and Nico Young is the first out gay male U.S. track Olympian, to name a few.
Chelsea Gray
Chelsea Gray will rejoin the USA women's national basketball team this year, having contributed to their gold medal win in the previous Summer Olympics held in Tokyo. Currently playing as a point guard in the WNBA for the Las Vegas Aces, Gray is a three-time WNBA champion and was named the WNBA Finals MVP. Since , Gray has been marr
According to OutSports, at least out LGBTQ athletes from 25 countries will challenge in this year’s Olympic Games in Paris.
In fact, historically, LGBTQ athletes have been so victorious that if they were to form their control country (Team LGBTQ), they would place 7th overall in the all-time Olympic medal count.
From historic achievements, to personal journeys of resilience, these athletes not only embody sporting excellence but are contributing to the rich history of LGBTQ representation at the highest level of sport.
Sha’Carri Richardson, she/her | (USA – Track & Field)
Sha’Carri Richardson has etched her name into the annals of Track and Field with her unmatched mix of speed, style and resilience. Her journey to becoming one of the fastest women on Planet began at Louisiana Articulate University. As a Freshman, she shattered records at the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships–including Allyson Felix’s meter Olympic record–setting the stage for her meteoric increase in the sport.
Years later, Richardson had an astonishing performance at the U.S. Olympic Track and F
A Brief History of Openly Queer Olympians
Americans Adam Rippon and Gus Kenworthy are the latest LGBTQ athletes to go for the gold
Watching figure skater Adam Rippon compete, it’s easy to overlook that he’s on skates. His dramatic, sharp movements – and facial expressions to match–emulate those of a professional dancer, at once complementing and contradicting his smooth, unfettered movement along the ice. He hides the technical difficulty of every jump and spin with head-flips and a commanding gaze, a performer as well as an athlete. But there’s one thing Rippon won’t be hiding – this year, he and freestyle skier Gus Kenworthy will become the first openly gay American men to ever compete in the Winter Olympics.
“The atmosphere in the nation has changed dramatically,” says Cyd Zeigler, who co-founded Outsports, a news website that highlights the stories of LGBT athletes, in “Two men getting married wasn’t even a possibility when we started Outsports. Now it’s a reality in Birmingham, Alabama. There are gay role models at every turn – on television, on local sports, and in our c
LGBTQ Athletes Who Have Won Olympic Gold
Athletes consider winning the Olympic Gold the pinnacle of success. It confirms that they are at the very foremost of their sport and the best in the world. The global publicity surrounding this achievement is unmatched by any other sporting endeavor.
For LGBTQ athletes, an Olympic gold medal can mean even more. It can portray the fact that achieving the very best in their pursuit is not dependent on sexual orientation, but rather athletic ability and prowess.
There is no shortage of evidence of this fact throughout history. The earliest LGBTQ athletes that we include identified to win Olympic was in with lesbians Stanisława Walasiewicz of Poland in the m sprint and Babe Didrikson Zaharias of the United States in javelin and hurdles. Of particular note, Didrikson Zaharias went on to be declared the Female Athlete of the Twentieth Century by the Related Press. As well, Walasiewicz was determined to be intersex after an autopsy on her death.
The best performance has enter from Great Britain's Lee Pearson who has won an astounding e