This year's Tokyo Olympics are set to be some of the most extraordinary games in history. With all of these amazing LGBTQ athletes, how could we expect it to be anything less? More and more Olympians from countries all over the world are openly declaring their sexuality and standing up for everyone in their communities. These world-class athletes are ready to take on Tokyo and the world beyond. Keep on scrolling to be amazed at the 40 LGBTQ reasons that these Tokyo Olympics are fabulous!
Jack Woolley
Jack Woolley is a 22-year-old Irish Olympian who is ranked fourth globally for his Taekwondo mastery. This martial art requires serious flexibility and strength to outmatch your opponent, and Woolley is all the stronger for his openness with his sexuality.
Though he had a tough opening fight in this year’s Olympic Games, we’ll be looking out for him in the 2024 Paris Olympics. This resilience and fighting spirit make him a true role model for LGBTQ youth everywhere.
Ana Marcela Cunha
Ana Marcela Cunha is known to the world as Brazil’s queen of marathon swimming, but she also inspired her girlfriend Diana Abla to pursue an aquatic career herself. This power couple makes a fantastic team, both in and out of the pool.
Cunha was the youngest woman to compete in the inaugural women’s 10 km open water marathon at the Bejing Olympics in 2008, and she is set to make her country proud again at the 2021 games.
Amanda Chidester
Amanda Chidester, a softballer, from the USA has her work cut out for her at this year’s Olympic Games. Not only is she representing her country, but she will be going head to head with her fiancé Anissa Urtez, who plays for team Mexico.
They say that a little friendly competition can do wonders for a relationship. These two will have to put aside the newlywed gazes and put on their game faces for the showdown. Four Representing the small Polynesian kingdom of Tonga, Amini Fonua is an openly gay Olympic swimmer. Though Tonga is not known for accepting LGBTQ people, Fonua hopes to spark the change he wants to see in the world.
Amini Fonua
Representing the small Polynesian kingdom of Tonga, Amini Fonua is an openly gay Olympic swimmer. Though Tonga is not known for accepting LGBTQ people, Fonua hopes to spark the change he wants to see in the world.
This will be Fonua’s third Olympic Games, and he plans to continue to speak out for the rights of queer people, both at home and overseas. We wish him all the luck in his journey.
Markus Thormeyer
Markus Thormeyer is a 23-year-old openly gay Canadian swimmer. He is an athlete that has already made a name for himself in his home country and is ready to take on the world.
When Thormeyer first began training with the Olympic team, he was nervous about coming out to them, but when he finally did, they accepted him with open arms. Since then, he has been swimming better than ever before.
Silvana Lima
Silvana Lima is the surfer chick to the stars. This Brazilian athlete taught herself to surf at eight years old on a makeshift wooden board. It took her another six years before she finally got on a real surfboard, and she never looked back.
At one time, Lima had trouble securing sponsorship as she is not “traditionally feminine.” She told the press that sponsors only wanted “pretty” athletes, but by working hard to fund her own athletic career, she is now a role model to many!
Kelley O’Hara
Kelley O’Hara was one of only three players to play every minute of the women’s football tournament in the 2012 London Olympics. With one gold medal to her name already, O’Hara hopes to show the world that she’s still got it in the 2021 Tokyo Games.
O’Hara came out as Lesbian to the press in a dramatic fashion, seen kissing her girlfriend on camera at the FIFA World Cup in 2019. What a way to celebrate that win!
Fernanda Pinilla
You may know Fernanda Pinilla as the defender of the Chilean national football team, but she is also a defender of gay and feminist rights. In 2018, Fernanda made it clear that she was an open and proud lesbian and has routinely spoken for women's rights movements ever since.
Pinilla has a fantastic mind to go along with her great athletic abilities, she has a degree in physics from the University of Chile! And she is in the process of obtaining her PhD.
Ari-Pekka Liukkonen
Ari-Pekka Liukkonen is the first Finnish Olympian to declare his sexuality openly during his athletic career. He decided to come out as a gay man to bring awareness to the anti-gay laws of neighboring Russia.
Since his coming out, Liukkonen was named Finnland’s sports role model of the year, and the world has seemed to accept him with open arms. We wish him all the luck in your quest for equality and in the 2021 Olympic Games!
Tierna Davidson
At only twenty-two years old, Tierna Davidson is one of the youngest football players on the United States Olympic team. In interviews, she has said that her coming-out story was not a dramatic one, and she longs for the day when everyone else can say the same.
She is proud to be who she is and believes that humanity can become a more inclusive species than it is. That is an attitude that we all can get behind.
Adrianna “A.D.” French
Adrianna “A.D.” French is the goalkeeper for the American female football team and a proud member of the LGBTQ community. This multi-talented athlete was also the MVP basketball player and a national pool player!
French proposed to her long-time girlfriend Emily Bosancacci in 2018, and the two married the next year. The couple have two children and remain happily married to this day. This athlete is the MVP both on the field and at home.
Alana Smith
Alana Smith, of the American Olympic skateboard team, identifies as a non-binary athlete and is proud to come out as one. Alana is incredibly comfortable speaking publicly about the importance of inclusion and representation in sports.
In interviews, Smith has noted that being unapologetically and always trying to approach life with a smile is the key. A role model in the world of LGBTQ, Smith’s approach to life is something many can all learn from.
Nick Wagman
The equestrian Nick Wagman is set to compete as a dressage rider for Team America at the 2021 Olympics. Growing up, he found that he was able to use dressage as a safe space.
While struggling with his sexual identity, Wagman used dressage as an outlet to remain grounded as he discovered who he was. Now, he is happily married to his husband of several years and is proud to be who he is.
Alex Sablone
Alex Sablone is a self-taught skateboard Olympian for Team America. She started competing at only twelve years old, but she vowed never to skate again after rolling her ankle and failing to find sponsorship.
Sablone, of course, did decide to skateboard again and, at the age of 23, restarted her career. Women's skateboarding has not always been as inclusive as today, and Sablone has been an outspoken advocate for women in sports.
Erica Sullivan
Now officially a silver medal winner, Erica Sullivan of the United States swim team, is an outspoken member of the LGBTQ community. Proudly declaring her Asian heritage and identity as a gay woman.
After her Olympic victory, Sullivan went on to say that she is the “epitome of the American person.” She is multicultural, and she is queer. She is living the American dream, coming to a country, and establishing who she wants to be.
Erica Bougard
Erica Bougard has become an American household name, a heptathlete with particular strengths in jumping and track. In interviews, she has stated that athletes have an important role to play in society, they have a voice, and people look up to them.
Bougard wore a pair of rainbow running shoes to the Qatar World Championships, where homosexual acts are still punishable by law. She had been dating her girlfriend for one year and has stated that she hadn’t even thought about the shoes and was just being herself.
Suzanne Bird
Currently the oldest athlete in the Women's National Basketball Association in the United States, Suzanne Bird plays point guard for the Olympic Team. Though also an Israeli citizen, Bird chooses to play for Team USA and has done her country proud.
In 2017 Bird publicly announced that she was a lesbian and was dating the American soccer player Megan Rapinoe. They became engaged three years later and were the first same-sex couple on the cover of the “Body Issue” for ESPN magazine.
Thomas Daley
Thomas Daley is more than a British Olympic gold medalist, he is a husband to Dustan Black and father to Robert Black-Daley. Diving from the tender age of seven, at just fourteen, Daley was the youngest competitor for Britain in the 2008 Olympics!
Though Daley struggled with his sexuality for a time, he fell in love with Black at first sight and now refers to himself as a proud gay man. Daley is a strong proponent of gay rights!
Domien Michiels
Domien Michiels is an Olympic dressage rider for Team Belgium. A true horse lover, Michiels owns his own dressage stables and breeding centre at home in Belgium, with about twenty horses to his name.
We all have our true love story, most of us have the dream of riding off into the sunset with our one true love. For Michiels, this dream has become a reality, his partner, Geert-Jan Raateland of the Netherlands, is also an Olympic dressage rider.
Tom Bosworth
Tom Bosworth is an Olympic speed walker for Team Britain, who holds three world records. He is a champion for LGBTQ and mental health in sports and often speaks openly on both of these subjects.
In 2015, Bosworth came out as gay on the BBC, explaining that his family, friends, and fellow athletes had known for years. After over four years of dating, he proposed to his now husband during the Rio Olympics.
Kendall Chase
Kendall Chase is an Olympic Rower for Team America. Chase started her athletic career in soccer but was told by a teammate's mother that she had a rower's physique and should try it out.
She put herself through a summer rowing camp and came out with the fastest time, even outstripping her coaches! Chase is known at home for her viral TikTok content. She's never made a secret of her sexuality and openly discusses it with fellow LGBTQ Olympians.
Perris Benegas
Perris Benegas is a Freestyle BMX athlete playing for Team USA. She became interested in the sport after seeing her brother and his friends on their BMX bikes. She was the only girl in the group, but she didn’t let that stop her.
She went on to win gold at the UCI World Championship in Chengdu, China, in 2018. In an emotional Instagram post, Benegas came out as gay, saying that she had been suppressing a large part of herself and couldn’t hold it back anymore.
Anton Down-Jenkins
New Zealand has welcomed there first openly gay Olympic diver with open arms. Anton Down-Jenkins is also making history as the first diver from New Zealand to qualify for the Olympics since 1984.
Jenkins stated in interviews that he has always had representation to look up to, paying respect to Tom Daley and Matthew Mitcham, who paved the way for LGBTQ representation in diving. Though Jenkins lost two and a half months of training while fighting COVID-19, he is now fully vaccinated and looks forward to his time at the Olympics.
Maarten Hurkmans
Maarten Hurkmans of the Netherlands is an Olympic rower on the 8+ team. Hurkmans has made no secret of his sexual identity. He has noted that people do not generally think of him as bisexual, perhaps because of his status as an athlete.
The teachers and coaches of his university say that Hurkmans is the kind of athlete they don’t have to worry about. He is self-motivated in both academics and sport. He is the new model of what it is to be an athlete.
Kayla Miracle
Kayla Miracle represents the USA as the first out LGBTQ Wrestler at the Olympics. Coming from a wrestling family, Miracle found a passion for the sport at only four years old.
At that time, women did not even compete in wrestling at the Olympic level. Miracle sees wrestling as an opportunity to show that her sport is inclusive of both women and LGBTQ people. Her girlfriend, Abby Nette, is also a wrestler.
Rowena “Rowie” Webster
Rowena “Rowie” Webster is an Australian water polo player and two-time Olympian. This team captain found a passion for her craft at twelve years old and has since won a bronze medal at the London Olympics.
Webster has partnered with the Australian Pride Network to raise awareness for queer people in sports. Illustrating that 75 percent of LGBTQI+ women in sport are still in the closet, she aims to recognize that the fight for inclusion has just begun.
Douglas Souza
Douglas Souza is an outside hitter for the Olympic Brazillian Volleyball Team. Currently, he is the most followed volleyball player on Instagram in the world. Souza has said that he wishes to be a mirror for non-standard and young people everywhere.
Openly declaring himself as gay in 2020, he stated that being different is cool and that everyone should understand this. He wants people to know that he does not want any special privileges, only equality for all.
Dominic Clarke
Dominic Clarke is an Olympic trampoline athlete competing for Team Australia. His motto is “hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard,” and he certainly has worked hard, from a junior level to the Olympic stage.
Clarke is proud to be competing as an openly queer Olympian and hopes that doing so will increase the visibility of LGBTQ people in sports. At home, Clarke is a pride ambassador for Gymnastics of New South Wales.
Raven Saunders
Raven Saunders is the USA shot put and discus player. Truly one of the best in her craft, Saunders broke a 23-year-old outdoor championship record for the shot put throw at 63ft 5in 2016.
Saunders came out to her mother in the third grade and has remained very public and proud of her LGBTQ identity. She is very open on the subjects of queer identity, racial justice, and mental health.
Dutee Chand
Dutee Chand is the 100-meter sprinter for the Indian Olympic Team, she is also the first Indian athlete to state that she is in a same-sex relationship openly. Chand sees this as an important opportunity to open people's eyes.
Chand was banned from competing in the past and was almost denied entry into the 2021 Olympics. Her body naturally produces testosterone at levels above regulations. She has since spoken out against these rules.
Portia Woodman
Portia Woodman of the New Zealand Olympic Rugby team is a force to be reckoned with. Originally a netball player, Woodman switched to Rugby in 2012 and quickly climbed through the ranks, earning a silver medal at the Rio Olympics in 2016.
Woodman and her partner, Fern Wickliffe, share a daughter, Kaia, who they hope to inspire to follow her dreams. Being a Northlander of Ngāpuhi descent, Woodman will proudly represent her indigenous land at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.
Jolanta Ogar-Hill
Jolanta Ogar-Hill sails for the Polish Olympic Team and will compete for her second Olympic Games in Tokyo this year. Though she sailed for two years for Austria and obtained citizenship, she is happy to make her way back to her native Polish team.
In 2018, Hill married her long-time girlfriend in Spain. She speaks out for all LGBTQ people, especially in her home country, where many queer athletes still remain in the closet.
Ceci Carranza Saroli
Ceci Carranza Saroli is an Argentinian sailor, competing in the Olympics since the 2008 Games. With one gold medal under her belt from the 2016 Olympics, she had the honor of carrying her country's flag for the opening ceremony.
Saroli almost didn’t compete in the 2016 Games and considered leaving the sport to focus on motherhood. But the Olympics were too important for her and she found a balance between sailing and home life with her wife.
Hannah Robert
At only nineteen years old, Hannah Roberts from the USA is set to compete in the Tokyo Olympics. Roberts was the first of the Women’s BMX competitors to be chosen to compete at The Tokyo Games
Roberts married her wife, Kelsey Miller, on New Year's Day! The two are settling into their new lives together by buying a home and adopting two adorable dogs, all while training for the Olympic Games.
Georgia Simmerling
Georgia Simmerling has played for Team Canada in women’s cycling, alpine skiing, and ski cross! She is the first-ever Canadian to compete for three separate sports in three different Olympics.
When Simmerling suffered a wrist injury in skicross, she knew that she would never compete in her sport again. Instead, she got on a bike, and before her wrist had even healed, started training for the summer Olympics. She has been dating fellow Olympian Stephanie Labbé since 2016.
Rut Castillo
Rut Castillo is a singles rhythmic gymnast for Team Mexico competing in her first Olympic Games in Tokyo. Castillo started in gymnastics at only six years old and keeps the motto “athletes never give up, always fight."
After failing to qualify for the 2016 Rio Olympics, Castillo almost quit entirely but decided that she had to give it one last go. Though a somewhat reserved person, Castillo has come out as a proud queer woman.
Kristen Thomas
Being active throughout her high school days, Kristen Thomas from the USA did not start playing Rugby until her freshman year of college. Thomas excelled at the sport and now plays for the Olympic Team.
In an Instagram post celebrating Thomas' newfound love for the crop top trend, a casual #lgbt, #non-binary tag appeared under the photo. Kristen does not make a big deal of sexuality and gender identity but acts with pride and openness.
Alev Kelter
Alev Kelter is set to play in her second Olympic Games for the USA’s rugby team. Ketler played for her university's soccer and hockey team but was drafted to play rugby after graduation.
Ketler is a proud member of the LGBTQ community and an advocate for trans women in rugby. She and her team have spoken out on social media to include all women in the sport and speak against prejudice on the Olympic committee.
Julian Venonsky
Julian Venonsky competes for the USA in men’s eights rowing as a coxswain. This year's 2021 Olympics will be Venonsky's first, though he is no stranger to competition, winning silver at the world championships.
Venonsky has stated that he has never been in the closet with his team. He is open and proud about his sexual identity and his relationship with his boyfriend for several years. He believes that to lead a team, there can be no secrets between them.
Natalie Powell
Natalie Powell is a Welsh Judo competitor for Team Britain and is dating Sanne van Dijke, the Judo competitor for Team Netherlands. This dynamic duo is not to be messed with!
Each of them can be seen cheering the other on at their respective events, this is a case of both good sportsmanship and a good relationship. We should all take a page out of their book and understand the pursuit of love.