Swimmer Nick Albiero and surfer Tyler Wright, both out LGBTQ athletes, qualified for the Olympics in Paris this week, marking the first appearance at the Games for both.
Albiero, who is gay, will swim for Brazil. He was born in the U.S. but holds dual U.S.-Brazilian citizenship. Wright, who is bisexual, competes for Australia. While swimming be held in Paris, the surfing will be held at the famed Teahupo’o course in the French Polynesian territory of Tahiti.
Albiero qualified with a personal record of 1:55.52 to grab the gold in the 200-meter butterfly at the Brazil swimming championships. It was the third-fastest Brazilian time in the event in history and met the Olympic standard.
“My first personal best in 3 years and a ticket to paris,” Albiero wrote on Instagram. “i don’t have all the words quite yet. it’s been the hardest and most uncomfortable year of my life but the most rewarding. can’t thank you all enough for the love and support, especially my family.”
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Wright, one of four Aussie surfers to qualify, is both excited and nervous about surfing in Tahiti.
“Teahupo’o is a massive wave of consequence,” she told the Guardian. “It’s beautiful, it’s raw and it’s a wave where you don’t want to find out the consequences. You want to go in with a really humble and respectful approach to mother nature and what she produces.
“More than likely I’m going to be scared, but it’s being honest with that and sticking to what’s important for me in that opportunity, that’s all I can ask for myself.”
Albiero came out as gay on social media in 2022 after attending the Pride event in Louisville, saying it was about time, after staying closeted after being mocked while younger.
“And that was something that was holding me back, because of the locker room talk and being on deck in a Speedo, I didn’t want people to think of me differently or act differently around me. It held me back. But I haven’t received anything negative at all.”
Wright came out in 2020 and talked about her reasons for wanting to be authentic as she donned the Progress Pride flag at an event in Maui.
It “for me feels like another step in my realization of my true and authentic self. As a proud bisexual woman of the LGBTQ+ community as well as an Australian, I’m delighted to be able to represent both this year on my competition jersey. The number change to 23 represents, to me, a new phase of my career and my growth as a human. The Progress Pride flag represents a love that opened my eyes more to who I really am.
“After a decade and two world titles, I’ve been evaluating what I do with my life and surfing career but more importantly, WHY I do it.
“I want to win. I will win so I can continue to use this platform as a place to have conversations about identity, humanity and inclusivity. I’m blessed to able to have a platform in the @WSL, and I feel a responsibility to use it in a way to give voice and empower others. Hopefully, I can encourage others to embrace exactly who they are and to feel safe, expressing that in a way that is best for them.”
More out LGBTQ athletes will make their respective teams as we get closer to the July 26 start. Outsports expects this year’s total to exceed the 186 who competed in Tokyo in 2021.
