Team USA, with a couple out LGBTQ athletes and a coach, has won a gold medal at the Parapan American Games.
The United States team beat Canada in the final, 62-56, to secure a guaranteed spot in the 2024 Paris Paralympic Games.
Amongst the Team USA gold-medal roster are a few publicly out LGBTQ people:
- Coach Desi Miller
- Player Kaitlyn Eaton
- Player Courtney Ryan
Eaton wasn’t shy to share her first international gold medal:
The United States of America has been a powerhouse in women’s wheelchair basketball. Since the 1988 Paralympics, Team USA has won four of the nine golds, winning three other medals as well. No nation has won more women’s wheelchair basketball Paralympic medals — nine — than the United States.
Stephanie Wheeler — an out former player and coach who won Paralympic gold in both roles — is in the Wheelchair Basketball Hall of Fame.
You can follow these women on Instagram: Desiree Miller, Courtney Ryan and Kaitlyn Eaton.
