The Paris 2024 Olympics are quickly approaching and we’re taking a moment to appreciate the LGBTQ+ athletes taking part in this year’s games.
Some of the most famous LGBTQ+ athletes competing in this year’s games include the fastest woman in the world, Sha’Carri Richardson, a 23 year old American track and field sprinter who identifies as bisexual. Last summer, she won the world championship 100-meter title. In the Summer Games, she will represent Team USA.
Emma Twigg and Robbie Manson representing New Zealand, who both identify as gay, will be competing in rowing. Manson, who represents New Zealand, qualified for Paris in September according to the Washington Blade. Twigg, who also represents New Zealand, will be defending her Olympic gold win in the Tokyo games of 2021.
From Australia, rock climber Campbell Harrison announced his qualification for the games on Instagram with a video of his qualifying run. Other LGBTQ+ Olympic competitors include Venezuela’s track and field star Yulimar Rojas and Canada’s Kadeisha Buchanan who will defend the country’s Gold Medal for Women’s soccer at the games this year. Quinn, a midfielder on Canada’s soccer team qualified for the Paris games in September and is the first transgender nonbinary Olympic Gold Medalist.
Many other LGBTQ+ athletes have qualified for the Paris games, and seek to win their first gold or uphold their country’s previous win. At the Tokyo Summer Olympics, Outsports accounted for at least 186 out athletes competing, a number that tripled the previous number for the Rio Games in 2016.
The Paris 2024 Olympics take place between Friday, July 26 and Sunday, August 11. Viewers can tune in across various streaming platforms and cable channels to watch LGBTQ+ athletes take home gold.
