Gay married couple will represent Great Britain at Rio Olympics
By Will Stroude
Teammates Kate and Helen Richardson-Walsh will be making history at the Rio Olympics as they become the first same-sex married couple to compete at the games.
The pair, who have been married for three years and known each other for 20, met as teenagers playing on the same hockey team.
In an interview with the Daily Mail earlier this year, Kate revealed how they began dating after getting to know each other on the pitch, saying “we were friends but we weren’t bezzie mates before that”, she said. “But we just clicked and developed a deep emotional connection. We have similar values and morals, even though we’re opposite in lots of other ways.”
The two began dating at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
The couple aren’t worried about their relationship causing tension on the hockey pitch when they represent Great Britain at the Rio games, which take place between Friday August 5 and Sunday August 21.
“Obviously at the start there were some people on the team who thought ‘oh that’s different’,” says midfielder Helen. “But now nobody bats an eyelid and it’s really nice actually.”
The entire squad were invited to their 2013 wedding, a year after they took home bronze medals at London 2012.
Earlier this year Spanish Water Polo athlete Victor Gutiérrez came out as gay.
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Olympic figure skater comes out with a very public kiss
The Team GB hunks to look forward to at Rio 2016 – PICS