At least 144 publicly ‘out’ LGBTQ+ athletes will be in Paris for the 2024 Olympics, according to Outsports, the LGBTQ+ sports site.
According to Outsports, the “numbers reflect growing acceptance in the sports world, especially for women athletes, despite the total of out LGBTQ+ Olympians still hovering at less than 2% of the expected overall figure of around 10,700 participants.”
Among the prominent out Olympians are Team GB diver Tom Daley; USA athletics star Sha’Carri Richardson; pro basketball players Diana Taurasi, Brittney Griner, Alyssa Thomas, Breanna Stewart, Jewell Loyd and Chelsea Gray of Team USA; Brazilian gymnast Arthur Nory; and trans nonbinary athletes Quinn (Canada – football) and Nikki Hiltz (USA – athletics).
Women’s football, across all participating countries, is the queerest sport at the Olympics this year. Brazil’s team has eight out athletes this year, while Australia’s roster has nine.
Publicly ‘out’ women Olympians outnumber men on Outsports’ Team LGBTQ list by about an 8-1 margin, roughly the same ratio as at the 2021 Tokyo Games. The 18 out male Olympians top the 16 from Tokyo, and there are some firsts: Nico Young, a 10,000-metre runner, is the first out men’s US athlete, while Timo Cavelius is the first ‘out’ gay male judo athlete. Equestrian accounts for almost half of all the ‘out’ men in Paris.
One of the first-time out Olympians is US women’s rugby player Stephanie Rovetti, a basketball player who forged a second career in rugby. Raised in Reno as a Mormon, Rovetti found her orientation at odds with her religion, so being out in Paris is very meaningful, she told Outsports.
“Going to the Olympics as an out athlete means a lot to me,” Rovetti said. “You go and represent all communities you are a part of and that representation on the world stage matters. Coming from a religious background, I hope to be a representation of courage to be your true authentic self.”
Robert Dover, a Team USA equestrian athlete for six consecutive Olympics from 1984 to 2004 who was one of the first out gay Olympians, recognises the impact of visibility.
“Having been out and proud in every Games since 1988 in Seoul, Korea, I can tell you that the impact you are making on young, gay athletes to find the same courage you have shown by publicly being your authentic selves is immeasurable,” Dover told Outsports in a message to ‘out’ athletes.
“My hope is that there will be a time when the universal acceptance of LGBTQ people will make the need for announcing ourselves as such obsolete. Until that day, gay pride will go on being celebrated as well as demonstrated by heroes like yourselves. Robert, my husband of 36 years, and I will be watching and rooting for you all.”