Gay male olympians
LGBTQ athletes take their marks on the track at the Paris Olympic Games
This year's U.S. Olympic team has a star-studded cast of LGBTQ athletes headed to Paris.
At least 29 competitors are prepared to take on the international games, according to a database compiled by LGBTQ news outlet OutSports.
These athletes are just a handful of the LGBTQ inclusion to expect at the Olympic Games. OutSports recorded at least 151 LGBTQ athletes representing countries around the world that are set to take up the competition in Paris.
For the U.S., that inclusion will shine in sports across the athletic spectrum -- from basketball to rowing to rugby -- putting a spotlight on a community facing growing anti-LGBTQ sentiment across the globe.
"LGBTQ athletes have likely competed in the Olympics and Paralympics since the very first games in history, " said LGBTQ advocacy group GLAAD in a statement. "Today, more athletes than ever are comfortable being out as their true, authentic selves and are embraced and supported by fans, fellow competitors, and sponsors."
On the track -- and in the field -- you'll find some newly minted Olympians to watch and som
Winter Olympics: Three openly gay men strive for a see on U.S. Olympic team
In 2014, John Fennell remained veiled in the metaphorical closet when he competed in the luge for Team Canada in the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.
“LGBT rights heading to Sochi were on everyone’s mind,” Fennell said.
Homosexuality was decriminalized in Russia in 1993, but the land still has a dismal reputation when it comes to LGBTQ rights, thanks in large part to a 2013 law that banned the spread of gay “propaganda.”
“I was really distracted by being a closeted athlete,” Fennell said. “I felt enjoy I had to change who I was.”
Fennell, who, thanks to dual citizenship, is currently a member of Team USA and hoping to qualify for the Pyeongchang Games in South Korea in February, said the unwelcoming environment for LGBTQ people in Russia wasn’t the only reason he chose not to come out.
“I thought I wouldn’t be accepted by my teammates,” he added. “I changed the way I talked to my teammates. I concealed my emotions.”
Nearly 2,900 athletes from 88 countries gathered in Sochi, but only seven of them were out, according to the LGBTQ sports site Outsports. Of these seven athletes, not one was Amer
Bill Tilden, who does not obscure his homosexuality, wins the men's singles title at Wimbledon. He goes on to win two more Wimbledon titles, seven U.S. championships, and leads U.S. teams to seven Davis Cup victories. In 1950, a survey of sportswriters names Tilden the greatest tennis player of the half-century. He dies in 1953.
Tom Waddell, a 30-year-old Army physician, places sixth in the Olympic decathlon. Waddell, who is openly male lover, becomes increasingly involved in homosexual politics. In 1976, Waddell and his partner Charles Deaton are the first gay men to be featured in the "Couples" section of People magazine. Five years later, Waddell forms San Francisco Arts and Athletics to plan the first "Gay Olympic Games."
David Kopay, an NFL running back who played for five teams (San Francisco, Detroit, Washington, New Orleans, Green Bay) between 1964-72, becomes the first professional team-sport athlete to come out -- doing so three years after retiring. He admits his homosexuality during an interview with the now-defunct Washington Star.
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According to OutSports, at least 155 out LGBTQ athletes from 25 countries will compete in this year’s Olympic Games in Paris.
In fact, historically, LGBTQ athletes have been so successful that if they were to form their own 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 voice at the extreme level of sport.
Sha’Carri Richardson, she/her | (USA – Road & Field)
Sha’Carri Richardson has etched her name into the annals of Road and Field with her unmatched combine of speed, manner and resilience. Her journey to becoming one of the fastest women on Earth began at Louisiana State University. As a Freshman, she shattered records at the 2019 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships–including Allyson Felix’s 2004 200-meter Olympic record–setting the stage for her meteoric rise in the sport.
Years later, Richardson had an amazing performance at the 2020 U.S. Olympic Track and Field trials and secured her see on Team USA for Tokyo. However, due to a con