Annie Guglia has been on a rollercoaster for the past month after initially failing to qualify for the Tokyo Games in skateboarding, but her Olympic dreams are about to become a reality and she will compete for Canada.
The 30-year-old skateboarder announced on Instagram that on Saturday she had gotten the official invitation to compete. It was just last Wednesday that Team Canada informed her she had moved up to the next alternate for the women’s street competition, and she should get to Tokyo. Shortly after she landed in Tokyo she got the official invitation to fill the open spot after South African skateboarder Boipelo Awuah had to withdraw due to injury.
With less than two days’ notice, Guglia jumped at the chance to compete in Tokyo and posted a picture wearing a rainbow Team Canada hat as she prepares herself for the women’s skateboarding heats slated to begin tonight at 10 p.m. ET.
“I am openly lesbian, and I 100% support all initiatives aiming for equality for all,” Guglia said in an interview last year for Team Canada. “I see my role in this community as being a positive role model. It’s a weird thing to say about oneself but overall, I try to make myself visible whenever possible and use the platforms offered to me to show that this is just normal.”
With the last minute addition to Team Canada, Annie adds to our list of out athletes competing at Tokyo 2020, joining fellow out skateboarders Margielyn Didal of the Philippines, Poppy Starr Olsen of Australia, as well as Americans Alexis Sablone and Alana Smith.
“We’ve seen this huge growth in women in the sport, as well as queer people, trans people, gay people; people of all backgrounds, religions, ages, styles, social classes, abilities, and skill levels,” Guglia said in her 2020 interview. “It’s really nice to see. The skateboard community has become so much freer and more inclusive and I’ve grown more and more proud of it.”
