22 LGBTQ Olympic athletes to cheer for at the 2021 Olympics – Today.com

Honorable mentions from other countries:

Laurel Hubbard

Laurel Hubbard made headlines in June when she became the first transgender athlete to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics. The New Zealander is a weightlifter who will represent her home country and at 43, she will also be the oldest weightlifter at the games, competing in the women’s 87-kilogram plus division.

The 2017 World Championship silver medalist came back from an elbow injury in 2018 that some thought would end her weightlifting career. In addition, Hubbard has had to face criticism from others, including some within the weightlifting community, who say she has an unfair advantage over other women when it comes to strength and physiology. Hubbard responded in 2017 to critics, telling the New Zealand news website Stuff, “All you can do is focus on the task at hand and if you keep doing that it will get you through. I’m mindful I won’t be supported by everyone but I hope that people can keep an open mind and perhaps look at my performance in a broader context. … Perhaps the fact that it has taken so long for someone like myself to come through indicates that some of the problems that people are suggesting aren’t what they might seem.”

Quinn

Canadian soccer player Quinn is Megan Rapinoe’s Seattle Reign teammate and is returning for her second Olympics run. The 25-year-old midfielder uses they/them pronouns and is originally from Toronto. 

In an interview with BBC, Quinn opened up about becoming a visible trans athlete. “I wanted to, you know, take a platform to speak out on issues that are happening around in the world and offer my support to other trans folks,” they said in part. “I think being visible is huge and it’s something that helped me when I was trying to figure out my identity and so I wanted to pass that along. And then hopefully, you know, other people will come out as well as they feel safe to do so. I can create a safer space for them.”