The world of sports can sometimes be unwelcoming to LGBTQ+ individuals, but the Olympic Games have provided a platform for LGBTQ+ minority athletes and sportswomen to shine. Notable figures like Greg Louganis, Sue Bird, Tom Daley, Megan Rapinoe, and Adam Rippon have become crowd favourites and international stars. The upcoming Olympics in Paris, starting on 26 July, will also feature the younger generation of queer sports champions.

Dan Jervis, who came out as gay in 2022, is a British swimmer competing in the 800m and 1500m freestyle events. New Zealander Robbie Manson is a rower and OnlyFans content creator who qualified for the Paris Olympics last September. Also representing New Zealand will be rower Emma Twigg. She already has a gold medal from the Tokyo Olympics, where she won the women's single sculls rowing race. The Paris Olympics will be her fifth Olympics and the second since she came out.

Campbell Harrison from Australia is a competitive climber who qualified for the Paris Olympics last November. In a post he published about the qualification on Instagram, he thanked the queer community for their support, saying: "May those who detest us forever f**k off".

Britain's Tom Daley will compete in his fifth Olympics in Paris. He earned bronze medals at the London 2012 and Rio 2016 Games and secured his first gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics. Daley resides in Los Angeles with his husband, Dustin Lance Black, and their two children.

Bisexual sprinter Sha'Carri Richardson, who represents the United States, broke the US collegiate record in the 100m sprint and qualified for the 2020 Olympic Games. However, she was subsequently disqualified due to a positive test for cannabis use. As a result, she will make her Olympic debut in Paris.

Representing Germany, Timo Cavelius will be the first openly gay judoka to compete in the Olympic Games when he makes his debut in Paris at 27. 21-year-old Nico Young, one of the youngest athletes on the roster, will represent the United States in the 10,000-meter run. He is the first openly gay American track and field athlete to make the team.

The Australian women's national basketball team is led by team captain Anneli Maley and experienced player Marena Whittle. Maley and Whittle are also a team off the court. They have been a couple for five years. They recently got engaged and hope to set a wedding date after the Paris Olympics.

Out magazine's list of queer people includes over 40 individuals. Unfortunately, Polish rower Katarzyna Zilmann, who won the Olympic silver medal in Tokyo, was not included in the list. She was unable to compete in the quadruple sculls event due to a serious injury that didn't heal in time for the preliminaries. Zilmann has expressed her intention to participate in the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028.

Source: out.com