Tokyo Paralympics To Boast Record Number of Openly LGBTQ Athletes

Following the Tokyo Olympics, which saw nearly 200 out athletes competing, the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics will boast a record number of openly LGBTQ athletes, almost two dozen and nearly double the number in Rio, according to Outsports.

There will be at least 23 out, LGBTQ athletes competing, and that number could still grow in the coming weeks as more athletes are identified.

Currently, the sport boasting the highest representation is wheelchair basketball, which has nine out competitors representing the U.S., Great Britain, Canada, and the Netherlands. Out Sports says gold-medal Paralympians Stephanie Wheeler and Abby Dunkin were crucial in building this list and helping to identify the out members of wheelchair basketball.

Out women also drastically outnumber the out men, with currently just one man—Great Britain’s dressage rider Lee Pearson—on the list. Australian track athlete Robyn Lambird is also the only nonbinary athlete that has been identified so far.

“I love seeing our out Paralympians highlighted because it shows that while we still have a ways to go, as a society, we have become more accepting therefore people are able to be their authentic selves and feel safe,” says Team USA sitting volleyball player Monique Matthews.

At the 2016 Rio Summer Paralympics, there were 12 publicly out, LGBTQ athletes reported by Outsports.

Check out the full list of LGBTQ athletes known to be completing in the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics here:

Canoe
Emma Wiggs (GB)

Cycling
Katie Dunlevy (Ireland)
Monica Sereda (USA)

Equestrian
Lee Pearson (GB)

Goalball
Asya Miller (USA)

Rowing
Lauren Rowles (GB)
Moran Samuel (Israel)

Sitting Volleyball
Monique Matthews (USA)

Swimming
Edênia Garcia (Brazil)

Track & Field
Robyn Lambird (Australia, 100m)
Maria “Maz” Strong (Australia, shot put)#

Triathlon
Hailey Danz (USA)

Wheelchair Basketball
Kaitlyn Eaton (USA)
Jude Hamer (GB)
Bo Kramer (Netherlands)
Tara Llanes (Canada)
Robyn Love (GB)
Cindy Ouelett (Canada)
Lucy Robinson (GB)
Courtney Ryan (USA)
Laurie Williams (GB)

Wheelchair Fencing
Terry Hayes (USA)

Wheelchair Tennis
Lucy Shuker (GB)