Over the years, many queer athletes have not only excelled in (wo)mankind’s greatest global competition, the Olympics, but they’ve also made strides in another way: with their contributions to gay rights. We take a look at some of history’s most important LGBTQ+ Olympians.
The Olympic Games 2024 are in full swing in Paris (so tying in with our latest issue, Paris is Turning, which showcases all that’s new and exciting in the French capital). The motto for this extraordinary extravaganza of physical prowess and finesse is ‘Citius, Altius, Fortius – Communiter’ (‘Faster, Higher, Stronger – Together’).
The modern Olympics was the brainchild of Gallic educator and historian Pierre de Coubertin. Inspired by the ancient Greek version, which was first held in 776 BC, the avuncular aristocrat embarked upon organising a contemporary equivalent. It debuted in the summer of 1896 (though there’s now also a winter edition, of course) – in Athens, and just fourteen countries attended.
From its inception, the reimagined Olympics was meant to embody a set of ideals. Indeed, Coubertin had believed taking part was more important than winning, and the fact that nations were being brought together should help foster world peace. However, as the initial restored games were in the late 19th century, which had a substantially repressive society, any inclusivity did not extend to LGBTQ+ entrants – their sexual persuasion was almost universally banned in their home countries, forcing them to remain ‘in the closet’.
In fact, it wasn’t until the Seoul Olympics in 1988 that there was an openly gay contestant, the American equestrian Robert Dover. In our view, the then 32-year-old’s decision to reveal his sexuality was particularly courageous because the West was gripped by the AIDS crisis at the time, meaning the queer community was subjected to much opprobrium. And, in essence, Dover’s statement was rather bold: I am here, proud, and not going away.
Since then, scores of LGBTQ+ individuals have competed in almost every conceivable Olympic discipline (it’s a pity there’s no tiddlywinks or dodgeball or we’d have given it a go). And several of them, whether they were ‘out’ or not when they participated, have made a significant contribution to gay civil liberties: one is Martina Navratilova, who placed fifth in the tennis doubles at the 2004 Athens Olympics. An icon of her sport with eighteen grand slams, the Czech-born sixty-something advocated the 1993 March on Washington for Lesbian, Gay, and Bi Equal Rights and Liberation, and the Elton John AIDS Foundation, inter alia.
Another sportswoman who’s been vocal in relation to gay rights is Natalie Cook. Born in the mid-seventies, after gaining one medal in beach volleyball at both the 1996 Atlanta and 2000 Sydney games, she became a notable proponent of equal marriage. Indeed, in an interview with The Sunday Mail in June 2015, the Queenslander opined: ‘[Prime Minister] Tony Abbott has got to take a serious look at what’s happened in the US (where same-sex matrimony had just been legalised). It’s time for the Australian Government to get behind it.’ The Puerto Rican Olympian Orlando Cruz, the first professional boxer to ‘come out’ while still fighting, lent his support to other LGBTQ+ people in a different way – by mentoring pugilists who didn’t want to disclose their sexual identity.
The fact a fair few of the above combatants stayed ‘in the closet’, is indicative of it seemingly being more acceptable or easier – especially in the male sphere – to ‘come out’ in some elite-level sports rather than others. For instance, in pursuits deemed supposedly more masculine, such as boxing, martial arts, and football, there are hardly any ‘out’ athletes; whereas the reverse is true in events perceived to be less stereotypically ‘manly’, including ice-skating, equestrianism or aquatics. It’s no surprise, then, considering their higher relative number, that there are various ‘out’ current or former Olympic divers and swimmers. Many are prominent activists. Tom Daley, for example, serves as a patron for the LGBTQ+ charity Switchboard; Greg Louganis is an HIV awareness advocate; and Australian Ian Thorpe fronted a campaign opposing a piece of domestic legislation that could have impeded non-heterosexual rights, the Religious Discrimination Bill 2021.
If you ask us, it’s impressive and refreshing that several LGBTQ+ Olympians have used the public platform their careers have engendered to advance queer rights. And, fittingly, it’s the type of esprit de corps that befits the ethos of the world’s premier sporting occasion.
Photography via Unsplash and Pexels
