Today the torch will blaze and the 2024 Summer Olympics, or the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad, will begin with pomp and pageantry. Acclaimed gold medalist diver Tom Daley and famed Phoenix Mercury player Brittney Griner won’t be the only out Olympians in the City of Lights. This year, one hundred fifty-five and counting LGBTQ+ Olympians worldwide are traveling to Paris to compete. Outsports, an LGBTQ sports news platform, has been tracking the information. They have dubbed the competitor’s Team LGBTQ.
Outsports co-founder Cyd Zeigler said, “As we learn more about the athletes, the list continues to grow. At the last Summer Olympiad, we started with 120 LGBTQ+ athletes, but the number grew to 186.”
Photos courtesy of United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee.
According to Outsports, the numbers reflect the growing acceptance of LGBTQ competitors in the sports world. While the numbers will grow as the Games progress, there are over ten thousand participants, and the LGBTQ contingent will be less than 2%. Team USA, however, has more than 5% of out athletes. Among Team USA are track star Sha’Carri Richardson, who may be the fastest woman in the world, and Nico Young, a track and field athlete. Team Canada has Quinn, the first nonbinary-trans medalist in Olympic history.
Zeigler said that Oustports was founded out of necessity. Zeigler said, “Nobody else was doing it. Gay publications were ignoring sports, and sports publications were ignoring gays.”
Outsports began with a one-page recap of Sunday NFL action in 1999. The organization has grown to match interest, especially as more athletes come out of the closet. Now, Outsports has a team of freelance writers who cover various sports topics.
Zeigler said, “The biggest reward of running Outsports for over 25 years is encouraging athletes to be their true selves. We cover professional, collegiate, and amateur sports.”
Photos courtesy of United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee.
Timo Cavelius, the first out gay male judo athlete, is competing for Germany. He is living Outsports’ motto, “Courage is contagious.” He came out of the closet at fifteen. Cavelius said in an interview with Outsports, “I still think a lot of people scare themselves about coming out,” he said. “The moment I took my destiny into my own hands, nothing could happen to me. My credo is very clear: There is no longer any room for homophobia today, not even in professional sport.”
Michael Buzzelli will be our out Olympic correspondent. Not from the Seine but the Mon.
For more information about the Team LGBTQ or any individual Olympic competitors, go to https://www.outsports.com.
