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Home Culture Culture Sexuality

15 July 2021

Tokyo Olympics: Record number of out LGBTQ athletes set to compete

Team LGBTQ is more than twice as big as it was at Rio 2016 - and we love to see it.

By Jamie Tabberer

Words: Jamie Tabberer; picture: Dutee Chand, Megan Rapinoe and Tom Daley (wiki/attitude)

A record number of publicly out LGBTQ athletes are heading to Tokyo for the Olympic Games this month, according to reports.

Staggering research from OutSports shows more than 135 LGBTQ people from 25 countries will compete across 26 sports, from soccer and rugby to skateboarding and shooting.

According to the outlet, the overall figure is more than double that of out LGBTQs who participated in the 2016 Olympics in Brazil.

 
 
 
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A post shared by Jack Woolley 🦂 (@jack_woolley_tkd)

The list includes returning Olympians like former Attitude cover star Tom Daley, a diver, and US footballer Megan Rapinoe, as well as an array of first-time competitors.

Weightlifter Laurel Hubbard – the first transgender athlete to ever qualify for an Olympic Games – will make her Olympic debut, as will Jack Woolley [above], an Irish taekwondo athlete who is bisexual.

“We can achieve anything we put our minds to”

Reflecting on LGBTQ representation at the event, Canadian swimmer Markus Thormeyer [below] told the site: “Competing at the Olympics as an openly gay athlete is pretty amazing. Being able to compete with the best in the world as my most authentic self at the biggest international multi-sport games shows how far we’ve come on inclusion in sport.

 
 
 
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A post shared by Markus Thormeyer (@lilmarquenis)

“I’m hoping that by competing at these Games I can show the LGBTQ community that we do belong and we can achieve anything we put our minds to.”

The Olympics take place from Friday 23 July 2021 to Sunday 8 August 2021.

To read the full list of out athletes competing at the Tokyo Olympics, head to OutSports.com.

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