Among the participants of the Paralympic Summer Games in Tokyo, 31 were openly queer. This is more than double the number of queer athletes during the 2016 Rio Olympics.
Yesterday was the starting shot for the Paralympic Summer Games in Tokyo. Blikk previously reported that at least 131 athletes at this year’s Olympics were queer. This number has become adjustable to 185. Now the Paralympics also break all records.
Based on Outdoor sports, there are at least 31 open queer athletes who will compete at the Paralympic Games in Tokyo, which ends on September 5.
This is more than double the number of queer athletes during the Paralympics in Rio 2016. At that time, Outsports only realized that there were 12 openly weird lhbt + athlete.
Women beat men
Queer athletes represent 10 different countries and 12 sports. The United States and Britain reigned supreme, but the nine athletes each were odd. Canada followed with three.
Outsports has obtained information through journalists and other contacts. They warn that some countries and sports are overrepresented because that’s where most of their contacts live. This list is expected to grow in the future, as more information about athletes from other parts of the world becomes available.
That said, the list so far highlights some interesting statistics. By far the strangest woman is. So far, only one odd male athlete has been reported: British dressage racer Sir David Lee Pearson, who has been a gold medalist in dressage 11 times.
Nearly half of the odd women compete in wheelchair basketball. This includes four athletes on the UK wheelchair basketball team: Lucy Robinson, Jude Hamer, Robyn Love and Laurie Williams.
Love and Williams recently shared the news of their engagement. They did this on Love’s Instagram account, with the caption: “Teammates and soulmates since 2015.”
Furthermore, Love wrote: “I don’t think I would have improved so quickly if he hadn’t pushed me so hard (…). It’s not always a good run, but competing at the highest level under tremendous pressure has made our relationship strong. , and I can’t wait to compete in Tokyo together.”
There are at least three non-binary athletes on the roster: Australians Robyn Lambird and Maz Strong, and American rower Laura Goodkind.
Lambird shared the news of his Paralympic qualification on Instagram and wrote:
“It’s been a crazy six-year journey with lots of ups and downs, but I can truly say it was a dream come true.”
“Certified introvert. Devoted internet fanatic. Subtly charming troublemaker. Thinker.”