Tokyo 2020 Is The Most Inclusive Olympic Games So Far: Here’s Why
The Olympics fever is on. And it is interesting to note that the Tokyo Olympics is the queerest one in the history of the summer games.
A record number of Queer athletes have participated in the biggest platform of sports on earth, proving yet again that heteronormative notions of strength, tact and stigma need to be thwarted and more and more spaces need to become inclusive.
More than 180 openly gay, lesbian, transgender, bisexual, and queer athletes have participated in this coveted platform of sports. There is a marked increase in the number of queer participation from the 2012 and the 2016 games.
Let’s have a look at some of the promising, openly queer athletes of this year:
Laurel Hubbard — Hubbard has been selected for the New Zealand Olympic Team to compete in the Women’s 87 Kilogram category. She is the first openly transgender athlete to be selected in Olympics
Kayla Miracle — Identifying as lesbian publicly, Kayla is the first openly queer person to compete in wrestling games in Olympics. She represents USA and is also the first openly queer Olympic wrestler.
Partners Edward Gal and Hans Peter Minderhoud — Edward Gal and Hans Peter Minderhoud are gay partners who will compete together in equestrian for the Netherlands in the Tokyo Olympics. The duo have competed together many times before, including at the Olympics in Rio in 2016, where they finished fourth. Together they won a team dressage bronze medal at the 2014 World Championships. Individually the two men each have an Olympic medal: silver for Minderhoud in 2008 and bronze for Gal in 2012.
Dutee Chand — India’s first athlete to come out as lesbian in 2019, Dutee secured qualification in women 100m and 200m sprints via world ranking at the Tokyo Olympics.
Quinn — Quinn came out as transgender in 2020 and is participating in Canada’s soccer team. They won a silver medal at the 2012 CONCAF Women’s U-17 Championship and have also represented Canada in FIFA U-17 and U-20 World Cups.
Here’s to queer representation. Here’s to breaking yet another glass ceiling. Here’s to smashing patriarchy and eroding the heteronormative male hegemony in sports and embracing change.
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