LGBTQ athletes at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing

The 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing will feature a record number of publicly out LGBTQ athletes, and Outsports will be covering them all the way.

The Olympic Games will run Feb. 4 to Feb. 20, 2022.

In addition, issues of human rights and inclusion will also be front-and-center as part of the Olympic conversation. The host country of China has a record of human-rights abuses, and the country has no legal recognition for same-sex couples, and being transgender is considered a mental illness in the country.

China edged out Kazakhstan — no better in regards to LGBTQ rights — in the final vote to host these Games. There will be a record number of events — 109 — at these Winter Games.

The 2018 Winter Olympics featured 15 publicly out LGBTQ athletes, and there will be more than that in Beijing.

Incidentally, for those in the United States, it will be the first time the Winter Olympics overlapped with the Super Bowl.