Twenty-two openly gay Olympians will compete in the 2012 London Olympics – a staggeringly low number compared to the nearly 11,000 so-called straight athletes who have registered to compete. Gay men represent the smallest of the openly gay competitors.
The number, although low, is an improvement over the 11 gay athletes who competed in Athens and 10 in Beijing. According to reports at the Huffington Post, more gay athletes are expected to come out since Britain has political asylum for those who may otherwise be prosecuted for their sexual orientation.
The Outsports list of 21 openly gay and lesbians Olympic athletes are:
Marilyn Agliotti (Netherlands, field hockey); Judith Arndt (Germany, cycling); Seimone Augustus (U.S., basketball); Natalie Cook (Australia, beach volleyball); Lisa Dahlkvist (Sweden, soccer); Carlien Dirkse van den Heuvel (Netherlands, field hockey); Imke Duplitzer (Germany, fencing); Edward Gal (Netherlands, equestrian); Jessica Harrison (France, triathlon); Carl Hester (Britain, equestrian); Alexandra Lacrabère (France, handball); Jessica Landström (Sweden, soccer); Hedvig Lindahl (Sweden, soccer); Matthew Mitcham (Australia, diving); Maartje Paumen (Netherlands, field hockey); Carole Péon (France, triathlon); Mayssa Pessoa (Brazil, handball); Megan Rapinoe (U.S. soccer); Lisa Raymond (U.S., doubles tennis); Rikke Skov (Denmark, handball); Ina-Yoko Teutenberg (Germany, cycling).
Péon and Harrison are a couple.
In addition, Pia Sundhage, U.S. women’s soccer head coach, is openly gay, as is Hope Powell, Britain women’s soccer coach. The gay Paralympians are Lee Pearson, a male British equestrian athlete, and Claire Harvey, a member of Britain’s women’s volleyball team.
