LGBT History Month National News

Half of Team LGBT Wins a Medal in Rio

Final
Written by Kevin Broady

The Olympic Summer Games of 2016 held in Rio, Brazil have been recorded into our history books, as the biggest out athlete LGBT presence ever recorded. Although, we won’t be able to see the bulging muscles of the gymnasts, the hairless swimmers at the pool or the lycra shorts on the track for another four years, in Tokyo 2020, team LGBT did make a statement in Rio. However, in 2018 at the Winter Olympic Games in Pyeongchang, Korea, we are sure team LGBT will have a presence again. Who could resist the gay snow bunnies on the ski slops, the glitter turns in the skating rinks and better yet the lycra jumpsuits at the speed skating track? YAAAS Queen!

 

Anyway, back to Rio, almost half of the publicly out LGBT athletes competing in the Rio Olympics won a medal, which is a drastically higher percentage than the athletes in general. All told, 25 of the 53 publicly out athletes that we know of — a full 47% — won a medal, including 10 athletes winning gold. This number was made higher, thanks in part to the success of the Swedish women’s soccer team and the American women’s basketball team, which combined account for almost a third of the athletes winning medals. It is odd that being publicly out would translate to Olympic success in the Summer Games. You have to wonder if there is a correlation.

 

Gold Medals

Nicola Adams

Great Britain, Boxing

51kg weight class

 

Kate Richardson-Walsh

Great Britain, Field hockey

 

Helen Richardson-Walsh

Great Britain, Field hockey

 

Susannah Townsend

Great Britain, Field hockey

 

Rafaela Silva

Brazil, Judo

Women’s 57kg

 

Seimone Augustus

United States, Basketball Team USA

 

Elena Delle Donne

United States, Basketball Team USA

 

Brittney Griner

United States, Basketball Team USA

 

Angel McCoughtry

United States, Basketball Team USA

 

Caster Semenya

South Africa, Track and Field

800 meters

 

 

Silver Medals

Alexandra Lacrabère

France, Handball

 

Lisa Dahlkvist

Sweden, Soccer

 

Nilla Fischer

Sweden, Soccer

 

Hedvig Lindahl

Sweden, Soccer

 

Caroline Seger

Sweden, Soccer

 

Carlien Dirkse van den Heuvel

Netherlands, Field Hockey

 

Maartje Paumen

Netherlands, Field Hockey

 

Sunette Viljoen

South Africa, Track & Field

Javelin

 

Rachele Bruni

Italy, Swimming

10km

 

Carl Hester

Great Britain, Dressage

 

Spencer Wilton

Great Britain, Dressage

 

 

Bronze Medals

Stephanie Labbe

Canada, Soccer

 

Marie-Eve Nault

Canada, Soccer

 

Tom Daley

Great Britain, Diving

 

Jen Kish

Canada, Rugby

Women’s sevens