There is at least one publicly out LGBTQ athlete competing at the Winter Paralympics in Pyeongchang this month.
Cindy Ouellet didn’t know if she would qualify for these Olympic Games, pinning her hopes on cross-country skiing at the 2022 Winter Olympics. Yet here she is, competing in three events in Pyeongchang: the women’s 1.1km, 5km and 12km sitting cross-country skiing events.
Ouellet competed in women’s wheelchair basketball in the 2008, 2012 and 2016 Summer Paralympics. Her Canadian team lost in the semifinals of the most recent Summer Paralympics in 2016.
She has a gold and a bronze medal in the World Championship of wheelchair basketball, but a Paralympic medal has eluded her.
According to the Winter Paralympics Web site, Ouellet was “diagnosed with bone cancer in her hip at age 12. She suffered nerve damage from the chemotherapy treatment she received.”
Ouellet is a true inspiration, and we wish her all the luck in the world as she aims for a Paralympic medal.
