The Beijing Olympics are underway, and alongside the controversies surrounding the Games, there is a bright spot: at least 34 ‘out’ athletes will be competing at the Olympics this year, doubling from 15 in 2018.
According to OutSports. Canada leads the pack with 10 out athletes competing.
The following are the Two Spirit and LGBTQIA+ athletes competing for Canada this year, and their sport.
- Megan Baines- Biathlon
- Paul Poirier- Figure Skating
- Eric Radford- Figure Skating
- Brianne Jenner- Hockey
- Erin Ambrose- Hockey
- Emily Clark- Hockey
- Melodie Daoust- Hockey
- Jame Lee Rattray- Hockey
- Jill Saulnier- Hockey
- Micah Zandee-Hart- Hockey
When you join a sports team and your teammates build camaraderie by calling their opponents anti-gay slurs, it may seem like sport isn’t for you. When you go to the gym and have to choose between two change rooms, where choosing either one may be dangerous for you, it may seem like fitness isn’t for you. When you want to jump in the pool, but mentally short-circuit at the highly fraught decision of what to wear, it may seem like athletic leisure isn’t for you.
When you see a crowd of out athletes at the Olympics so large, they could be representatives of their own country– when they hold their own, win medals, and are respected by their fellows and by media– you may see the whole world of sport open up to you for the very first time.