Record Number Of Openly LGBTQ Athletes Competing At 2024 Olympics

PARIS (AP) — A grounds number of athletes openly identifying arsenic LGBTQ+ are competing successful nan 2024 Paris Olympics, a monolithic leap during a title that organizers person pushed to halfway astir inclusion and diversity.

There are 191 athletes publically saying they are gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, queer and nonbinary who are participating successful nan Games, according to Outsports, an statement that compiles a database of openly queer Olympians.

The immense mostly of nan athletes are women.

That number has quashed nan erstwhile grounds of 186 retired athletes counted astatine nan COVID-19-delayed Tokyo Olympics held successful 2021, and nan count is only expected to turn astatine early Olympics.

“More and much group are coming out,” said Jim Buzinski, co-founder of Outsports. “They recognize it’s important to beryllium visible because there’s nary different measurement to get representation.”

The number of group consenting to return nan spotlight arsenic an LGBTQ+ Olympian has skyrocketed successful past decades. Buzinski said that erstwhile they started search nan numbers astatine nan Sydney Olympics successful 2000, they counted only astir 5 people.

Organizers of nan Paris Olympics person underscored diverseness and inclusion arsenic awesome themes, showcasing resistance queens and exile athletes successful Friday’s opening ceremony.

“In our Olympic world, we each belong,” Thomas Bach, International Olympic Committee president said successful a reside during nan opening ceremony.

Because of that and Paris’ estimation arsenic nan “City of Love,” Buzinski and LGBTQ+ advocates spot nan Paris Games arsenic an opportunity for athletes who hail from parts of nan world wherever competitors can’t beryllium openly cheery because of harsh restrictions connected queer populations.

“Coming to Paris, coming to France, they are capable to beryllium their existent selves,” said Jérémy Goupille, co-chair of nan Pride House astatine nan Paris Olympics.

The Pride House, which debuted astatine nan 2010 Olympics, is located connected a vessel floating connected nan Seine River and will characteristic unrecorded euphony and speeches from Olympic organizers arsenic it opens Monday night.

Goupille said information concerns still stay for galore athletes. Dating apps for illustration Grindr, Bumble and Tinder person agelong been utilized arsenic a shield for cheery athletes who want to link pinch different queer group successful nan countries wherever they are competing but don’t want to consciousness publically exposed.

But he said successful erstwhile Games, immoderate person tried to expose athletes that are not officially retired by checking heights, weights and locations of group connected those apps.

Because of that, Grindr announced that successful Paris they person abnormal location-based features wrong nan Olympic colony wherever athletes enactment and different charismatic Games areas, saying it would let LGBTQ+ athletes to link “authentically without worrying astir prying eyes aliases unwanted attention.”

The app made nan aforesaid determination for nan 2022 Beijing Olympics.

“If an jock is not retired aliases comes from a state wherever being LGBTQ+ is vulnerable aliases illegal, utilizing Grindr tin put them astatine consequence of being outed by funny individuals who whitethorn effort to place and expose them connected nan app,” Grindr said successful a statement.

Disabling those features was met pinch immoderate disapproval connected societal media past week aft immoderate users reported problems accessing nan app successful nan Olympic Village.

“You person to protect them because truthful galore bad group exist. At nan aforesaid time, location are truthful galore beautiful athletes,” Goupille said. “They want to meet personification and it’s difficult.”