The 2024 Paris Olympics will feature at least 155 publicly out LGBTQ athletes, marking the second consecutive Summer Games with triple-digit representation. The final total of Team LGBTQ members in Tokyo was 186 athletes, but the current number will grow as the Games progress
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.
The list of out athletes is heavily weighted to parts of the world where being LGBTQ is both legally and culturally accepted. This includes countries in North and South America, Western and Northern Europe and Australia and New Zealand. There are out athletes from 23 of the 206 participating nations.
The countries with the most out athletes at the Paris Olympics: USA (30), Brazil (25), Australia (18), Great Britain (10), Germany (9) and Netherlands (9).
There are only three out athletes from Asia: two boxers from the Philippines and one from Thailand. There are only four athletes from Africa (three South Africans) and one from the Refugee Team, boxer Cindy Ngamba, born in Cameroon and now living in Great Britain. There is only one athlete from any Muslim-dominated country (a Turkish volleyball player), places where being out and gay is often illegal or dangerous, and none from Russia, which has cracked down on LGBTQ rights in the past decade.
Some of the members of the Team LGBTQ in the 2024 Paris Olympics are:
- Dan Jervis, Great Britain, swimming.
- Sha'Carri Richardson, USA, track.
- Robbie Manson, New Zealand, rowing.
- Chelsea Gray, USA, basketball.
- Campbell Harrison, Australia, climbing.
- Nikki Hiltz, USA, track and field.
- Tom Daley, Great Britain, diving.
- Timo Cavelius, Germany, judo.
- Elke Vanhoof, Belgium, BMX.
- Hergie Bacyadan, Philippines, boxing.
- Alexia Putellas, Spain, soccer.
And many, many more!
Enjoy 2024 Paris Olympic Games!!!
