All three medal-winning nations in the Olympic equestrian team dressage event were represented by out gay riders.
Germany, who included Freddie Wandres, retained their title Saturday. The 37-year-old was stepping up having been first reserve at the Tokyo Oympics three years ago.
Denmark was second and Great Britain third. Cathrine Laudrup-Dufour and Carl Hester were members of their respective teams.
The podium places at the Palace of Versailles ensured a trifecta of gold, silver and bronze went onto the Team LGBTQ medal count.
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Wandres, on his horse Bluetooth, was supported in Paris by his boyfriend Lars Ligus. The couple work together at the Hof Kasselmann stables near Osnabruck in Germany’s south-west and regularly share images together on Instagram.
Ligus had his boyfriend’s gold medal round his own neck in a photo shared to his Instagram story.
This is the third appearance and first medal at the Olympics for Laudrup-Dufour, who married her wife Rasmine in a beautiful ceremony near Copenhagen last December.
For 57-year-old Hester, team bronze represents his fourth medal at his seventh Games, a record-equalling achievement of longevity for a British athlete.
Remarkably, it was Germany’s 15th team dressage gold, with Wandres’ teammate Isabel Werth becoming the country’s all-time record medalist, with a haul that includes eight golds.
In Sunday’s individual competition, the Grand Prix freestyle, Laudrup-Dufour finished fifth, one place ahead of Hester, while Wandres was 13th.
