The Queer Athletes Looking For Gold At The 2022 Winter Olympics
Out Sports. The previous 2018 Winter Olympics had 15 queer people in total. With that in mind, this year looks to be a record-breaking year for team LGBTQ+ at this year's Olympics, with an already record-breaking number of athletes in just one sport, as figure skating already has seven out individuals, including the first nonbinary athlete, confirmed to take the ice next month.The games are scheduled to take place from February 4 to 20 in Beijing, and are far from being concrete, as a lot can happen between now and then.
Still, here is the list of confirmed queer athletes heading to China for gold.Timothy LeDuc will become the first openly nonbinary athlete to compete at a Winter Olympics after they and their partner, Ashley Cain-Gribble, won the US Nationals Championship for pairs figure skating last week.They beat their second place competitor by over 15 points to secure the gold for the second time in their career, making them the ones to watch going into their event.In 2019, LeDuc became the first openly gay athlete to win gold in a US pairs’ event, according to the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee.Dutch speed skater Ireen Wüst has asserted herself as not only a legend in her sport, but has won gold medals at every Olympics she has been in since Turin in 2006, making her the most decorated LGBTQ+ Olympian of all time.The bisexual speed skater is entering the competition this year at 35, and it won’t be surprising if she tops the podium once again this year in her fifth Olympics.With a flurry of nearly every type of award a speed skater can get, regardless of her showing, Wüst has shown she is queer excellence.Going to my fifth Olympics in Beijing!!!
