A record 56 out LGBT athletes compete in Rio Olympics

The Rio Olympics has 56 publicly out LGBT athletes, the most ever for an Olympics.

The 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio has a record number of publicly out lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender athletes.

Outsports and Olympic and LGBT historian Tony Scupham-Bilton have identified at least 55 out athletes who are competing, as well as three coaches. There are 44 lesbian or bi women, 11 gay men and no out transgender Olympians. Several out athletes have also qualified for the Paralympics.

There are a record 11 publicly out male athletes, though none are from the U.S. There is also one married couple, Helen Richardson-Walsh and Kate Richardson-Walsh, British field hockey players. There are no openly transgender athletes competing in Rio.

We expect the list to grow, as more athletes are revealed to be out (our original list on July 11 had 27 names). This often occurs on team sports in Europe or in lesser-know sports where athletes are out but haven't gotten much publicity. If you know of an out LGBTI athlete not on the list, please contact us via email (outsports@gmail.com), direct message on Twitter (@outsports) or in the comments section of this story.

The 2012 Summer Games in London featured 23 out LGBT athletes. Others have come out publicly since they competed in London.

Here are the out LGBT athletes in Rio.
# after a name indicates an athlete added after our original list on July 11.

Nicola Adams (Great Britain, boxing)
Seimone Augustus (USA, basketball)
Tom Bosworth (Great Britain, race walk)
Rachele Bruni (Italy, swimming)
Anne Buijs # (Netherlands, volleyball)
Tameka Butt # (Australia, soccer)
Isadora Cerullo # (Brazil, rugby)
Tom Daley (Great Britain, diving)
Carlien Dirkse van den Heuvel (Netherlands, field hockey)
Lisa Dahlkvist (Sweden, soccer)
Elena Delle Donne # (USA, basketball)
Katie Duncan (New Zealand, soccer)
Nilla Fisher (Sweden, soccer)
Amini Fonua # (Tonga, swimming)
Larissa França (Brazil, beach volleyball)
Edward Gal (Netherlands, equestrian)
Kelly Griffin # (USA, rugby)
Brittney Griner (USA, basketball)
Carl Hester (Great Britain, equestrian)
Michelle Heyman (Australia, soccer)
Mélanie Henique # (France, swimming)
Jen Kish # (Canada, rugby)
Valentina Kogan # (Argentina, handball)
Stephanie Labbe # (Canada, soccer)
Alexandra Lacrabère # (France, handball)
Hedvig Lindahl (Sweden, soccer)
Ari-Pekka Liukkonen (Finland, swimming)
Robbie Manson (New Zealand, rowing)
Hans Peter Minderhoud (Netherlands, equestrian)
Ian Matos (Brazil, diving)
Angel McCoughtry (USA, basketball)
Eefje Muskens # (Netherlands, badminton)
Nadine Müller # (Germany, discus)
Marie-Eve Nault (Canada, soccer)
Ashley Nee # (USA, kayak whitewater slalom)
Meghan O'Leary # (USA, rowing)
Maartje Paumen (Netherlands, field hockey)
Fiona Pennie # (Britain, canoe)
Mayssa Pessoa (Brazil, handball)
Jillion Potter # (USA, rugby)
Megan Rapinoe (USA, soccer)
Helen Richardson-Walsh (Great Britain, field hockey)
Kate Richardson-Walsh (Great Britain, field hockey)
Tessie Savelkouls # (Netherlands, judo)
Carolina Seger # (Sweden, soccer)
Caster Semenya (South Africa, track and field)
Rafaela Silva # (Brazil, judo)
Martina Strutz # (Germany, pole vault)
Susannah Townsend # (Great Britian, field hockey)
Sunette Stella Viljoen # (South Africa, javelin)
Julia Vasconcelos # (Brazil, taekowndo). Julia confirmed to Claudia Custodio (@Cau__ on Twitter) with ESPN Brazil that she is a lesbian.
Marleen van Iersel # (Netherlands, beach volleyball)
Linda Vilumsen # (New Zealand, cycling)
Jeffrey Wammes # (Netherlands, gymnastics)
Spencer Wilton # (Great Britain, equestrian)
Kirsty Yallop # (New Zealand, soccer)

**Victor Guttiérez, a Spanish water polo player was originally on the list, but he announced July 12 that he is not going to Rio.

***This list had been one larger, but one athlete contacted us to say she was not publicly out, so we removed her name.

**** We had originally listed Dutee Chand (India, track & field) and Caster Semenya (South Africa, track & field) as intersex athletes competing. However, we have removed them as intersex athletes after consulting with an expert on intersex athletes, who told us: "Neither of them has publicly confirmed anything about their biology or that they are intersex. For that reason I have not labeled them as such in my writings. Intersex women have hyperandrogenism but not all women with hyperandrogenism have an intersex trait."

Semenya is married to a woman, Violet Raseboya, so she is added an an LGB athlete.

At least three publicly out head coaches will also be in Rio. Alyson Annan coaches the Dutch women's field hockey team, Jill Ellis is the head coach of the United States women's soccer team and Pia Sundhage is head coach of Sweden's women's soccer team.

Gold medal Olympic diver Greg Louganis will travel with the United States diving team as an official athlete mentor, the same role he held in 2012. Equestrian Robert Dover, who competed in six Olympics as an athlete, is a coach for the U.S. dressage team.

Here is a fascinating note from historian Scupham-Bilton:

"George Morris is trainer to the Brazilian Olympic equestrian team (his partner is Brazilian). They call him the 'Godfather of American Equestrianism.' He came out officially earlier this year in his autobiography at the age of 78, even though he states he was never 'in.' His Olympic involvement goes way back to 1956. He won a silver medal in Rome 1960. He was Chef d’Equipe for many years, and he’s probably the oldest LGBT person involved in the sporting events."

A number of other out athletes also competed at Olympic trials and came close to earning a spot in Rio:

A number of LGBT athletes will also compete in the Paramlympics after the Olympics. Angela Madsen will compete for Team USA in track and field, and Jen Armbruster and Aysa Miller will compete for the USA in team goalball. Lee Pearson will return to the Olympics in equestrian. Moran Samuel will represent Israel in rowing. Claire Harvey will represent Britain in track and field.

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Comments

Not an athlete but

I believe Pia Sundhage is still coaching the Swedish women’s soccer team.

By Luci N on 07.11.16 1:28pm

Thanks!

Missed her. Added now.

By Jim Buzinski on 07.11.16 2:02pm

The front page headline needs to be edited for accuracy. "Out" got left out.

By TampaZeke on 07.11.16 4:24pm

Addition

You’re missing Dutch gymnast Jeffrey Wammes, who was selected last weekend.

By nomis1 on 07.12.16 4:09am

Adding new names

We really appreciate when people send us new names but please provide some link to social media, or news that shows they are out (if you can). We already had to remove 1 name and want to be 100% sure. Thanks!

By Jim Buzinski on 07.12.16 11:46am

Alexandra Lacrabère, another out athlete

Alexandra Lacrabère came out a few years ago (http://www.lezbelib.com/sport-yoga/alexandra-lacrabere-an-openly-lesbian-handball-player, and you also mentionned her for the 2012 Olympic Games : http://www.outsports.com/2012/2/7/4052544/top-french-handballer-alexandra-lacrabere-comes-out-will-play-in). The French women handball selection for Rio has been announced today, she’s officially part of it, so I think you can add her.

By yaya30 on 07.12.16 12:40pm

Addition

You are missing Susannah Townsend, a Great Britain field hockey player. She is dating Dirkie Chamberlain, a South Africa field hockey player who qualified for Rio with her team but they were not allowed to compete by the South African Olympic Commitee

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/olympics/hockey/10861074/Hockey-World-Cup-2014-Susannah-Townsend-set-for-England-loyalties-as-girlfriend-clash-awaits.html

http://www.timeslive.co.za/sport/2015/11/20/Sascoc-wont-let-SA-hockey-team-play-in-Rio-Olympics

By Always a Swan on 07.13.16 12:46am

Tom Daley's not gay or bi

He’s just dating a man.

By mUTEdAEMON on 07.18.16 5:05am

French swimmer Mélanie Henique

Mélanie Henique ist a part of France’s swim team (50 m freestyle). She came out as lesbian after a homophobic attack in July 2015. http://www.lemonde.fr/societe/article/2015/07/05/natation-melanie-henique-victime-d-une-agression-homophobe_4671119_3224.html

By KS2000 on 07.22.16 9:25am

Van der Wal is not selected

Marieke van der Wal has not been chosen for the Dutch Handball team to go to Rio as she is considered to be the third best goalkeeper and two goalkeepers are going to Rio (see http://www.volkskrant.nl/sport/bebrilde-keepster-van-der-wal-de-opvallendste-afvaller-nederlandse-handbalploeg~a4331620/).

By nomis1 on 07.25.16 2:56am

I see terms LGBT, LBGTQ, and LGBTI, like all the people it describes the term seems to also have an identity problem

By daniel.martin510 on 07.26.16 9:02am

Social commentary

I think if you wanted to examine it, much could be made of the fact that less than 25% of this list is men, and none of those men compete on a team sport such as soccer or basketball, whereas more than half the women do. This is not mean to be any kind of value judgment but I think it points to the greater difficulty men feel in coming out, and perhaps also the greater pressure team as opposed to individual sports impose.

By basiluzzo on 07.26.16 9:57am

This is great!

By Vitaly04 on 07.27.16 4:19am

Martina Strutz

Martina Strutz (Germany, pole vault) is in a civil partnership with a woman. You can find pictures of her "and my wife" on her Facebook fanpage: https://www.facebook.com/martina.strutz.9/photos/a.1529449650711694.1073741829.1516750938648232/1543545772635415/?type=3&theater

By KS2000 on 07.28.16 1:42pm

LGBT Paralympians

Thank you for including LGBT Paralympians! I wish there were more men in that list, but it’s a start.

By Carlos Mitchell on 07.31.16 5:30pm

Duttee Chand

I don’t think she should be on this list. She doesn’t identify as LGBTQI and was forced to undergo demeaning tests by the IOC.

"Not long after that, she received the call to go to Delhi and was tested. After her results came in, officials told her she could return to the national team only if she reduced her testosterone level — and that she wouldn’t be allowed to compete for a year. The particulars of her results were not made public, but the media learned, and announced, that Chand had "failed" a "gender test" and wasn’t a "normal" woman. For days, Chand cried inconsolably and refused to eat or drink. "Some in the news were saying I was a boy, and some said that maybe I was a transsexual," Chand told me. "I felt naked. I am a human being, but I felt I was an animal. I wondered how I would live with so much humiliation."

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/03/magazine/the-humiliating-practice-of-sex-testing-female-athletes.html?_r=0

By ChandiniSF on 08.08.16 12:02pm

Rafaela Silva - Brazil's first gold medallist in Rio 2016

According to Brazilian magazine Veja
"Rafaela Silve have been together with her girlfriend for three years and share an apartment in Rio de Janeiro"

http://veja.abril.com.br/esporte/enquanto-rafaela-luta-e-ganha-sua-namorada-cuida-dos-cachorros/

By fifichan on 08.10.16 5:09am

Representation

Couldn’t help notice that while you’re promoting diversity and visibility with regards to sexuality, you’re reinforcing the under-representation of women in sport. You say there are nearly four times as many out LGBQTI female athletes as male, yet still prefer to illustrate your article with twice as many pictures of men as of women. Your chances of making the photo editor’s cut here were 1:2 if male, and 1:10 if female. Ironic that, isn’t it?

By Kate Mellersh on 08.14.16 6:45am

counting

6 of the photos are of women and 5 are of men. We try to give different genders, races, nationalities and everything else. Sorry you don’t like the image.

By Cyd Zeigler on 08.16.16 7:54pm

Another potential member of LGBTI team

While, I may be translating this wrong, I believe that this article is stating that the French silver medalist, Audrey Tcheumeo was out after getting her medal with her girlfriend.

http://extra.globo.com/famosos/retratos-da-bola/algoz-de-mayra-aguiar-judoca-francesa-vai-boate-com-namorada-atende-criancas-na-rua-19916842.html

By canadalaw on 08.15.16 9:50am

Disappeared

The link you listed no longer exists.

By Jim Buzinski on 08.17.16 12:47am

Sports related with being Gay

Great article! I am a brazilian and openly gay and what I think is that most athletes just don’t like to expose their sexual orientation even if we know that they are gay. In many sports it’s easy if you are gay because it calls for it. I know many brazilian gay athletes but they don’t tell the media. Sports like Voley, woman soccer, rugby, basquet (woman), diving, ginastics, swimming, handball, water polo, judo (woman), etc. It would be nice to have all mixed up and see everyone enjoying the pleasure only for be a human being with no lables.

By Onofre Cruz on 08.15.16 4:24pm

Yes but ...

… Only through visibility can stigmas be erased and progress made. By being reluctant to discuss their sexual orientation — something straight athletes — don’t shy from, the message being sent is that there is still a problem being gay in sports.

By Jim Buzinski on 08.17.16 12:48am

Missed one American diver....

Kristian Ipsen and was also at a previous Olympics. Been out for years. An article based on such things loses a bunch of credibility with me on missing such an easy one.

By Tom Medicine Man Strayhorn on 08.15.16 8:41pm

Source please

Please show us where Ipsen came out.

By Cyd Zeigler on 08.16.16 7:54pm

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