Since
this article first appeared a lot of new information has been revealed and new
research has been carried out. This article should be seen as a mere snapshot
of the information known at the date of its publication. Several facts may now
be outdated or inaccurate.
With the Paralympics coming to a close tonight I thought it was time to give you a few facts and figures about lgbt Olympians. These statistics refer to summer, winter and Paralympic games, including London 2012.
As I’ve found out in the past few months statistics can change as soon as past Olympians and Paralympians come out, so it should be noted that the facts and figures given here are correct (to the best of my knowledge) as of today.
Number of lgbt athletes in the men’s competitions 50
Number of lgbt athletes in the women’s competitions 81
Earliest identified lgbt athletes (neither were “out” at the time)
Summer Amsterdam 1928 Otto Peltzer, Germany, athletics
Winter Cortina d’Ampezzo 1956 Ronnie Robertson, USA, figure skating
Earliest to compete as an “out” lgbt athlete
Winter Innsbruck 1976 John Curry, GB, figure skating (outed by a German newspaper after his competition ended, but it was half-way through the games)
Top 3 summer Olympics with the most lgbt athletes (including those who were not out at the time)
1) Sydney 2000 44 athletes
2) Atlanta 1996 30 athletes
3) Beijing 2008 28 athletes
Top 3 winter Olympics with the most lgbt athletes (including those who were not out at the time)
1) Turin 2006 11 athletes
2) Vancouver 2010 9 athletes
3) Salt Lake City 2002 8 athletes
Top 2 Olympic Games with the most athletes competing as “out and proud”
1) London 2012 26 athletes (out of 26)
2) Beijing 2008 12 athletes (out of 29 “out” by 2012)
The Olympics with the most medals won by lgbt athletes
Atlanta 1996 21 medals, won by 17 athletes (6 gold, 3 silver, 12 bronze)
The Olympics with the most lgbt gold medal champions
Sydney 2000 10 champions
Beijing 2008 10 champions
Top 3 sports with known lgbt athletes
1) athletics 16 athletes
2) football/soccer 14 athletes
3) figure skating 12 athletes
Top 3 sports with the most lgbt gold medals
1) equestrianism 12 gold (won by 3 athletes)
2) handball 8 gold (won by 6 athletes)
3) diving 5 gold (won by 2 athletes)
Top 3 lgbt athletes with the most medals
1) Lee Pearson, GB, equestrianism 12 medals (10 gold, 1 silver, 1 bronze)
2) Anja Pärson, Sweden, skiing 6 medals (1 gold, 1 silver, 4 bronze)
3) Greg Louganis, USA, diving 5 medals (4 gold, 1 silver)
Top 3 lgbt athletes with the most gold medals
1) Lee Pearson, GB, equestrianism 10 gold
2) Greg Louganis, USA, diving 4 gold
3) Sheryl Swoopes, USA, basketball 3 gold
Lgbt athletes who have compete in the most games
6 Olympics Robert Dover, USA, equestrianism
5 Olympics Judith Arndt, Germany, cycling
Sabine Braun, Germany, heptathlon
Natalie Cook, Australia, beach volleyball
Chris Witty, USA, speed skating and cycling
The 3 youngest lgbt athletes
13 years
Ondrej Nepela, Czechoslovakia, figure skating Innsbruck 1964
15 years
Marian Lay, Canada, swimming Tokyo 1964
16 years
Greg Louganis, USA, diving Montréal 1976
The 3 oldest lgbt athletes
48 years Robert Dover, USA, equestrianism Athens 2004
47 years Martina Navratilova, USA, tennis Athens 2004
47 years Karen Hultzer, South Africa, archery London 2012
The 3 youngest lgbt medal winners
16 years Greg Louganis, USA, diving 1 silver (Montreal 1976)
18 years Ronnie Robertson, USA, figure skating 1 silver (Cortina d’Ampezzo 1956)
(Ewa KÅ‚obukowska of Poland was 17 when she won 1 gold and 1 bronze in athletics in Tokyo 1964. In 1966 she was the first Olympian to fail the gender test and stripped of her medals. This test is now regarded as unreliable.)
The 3 oldest lgbt medal winners
48 years Robert Dover, USA, equestrianism 1 bronze (Athens 2004)
45 years Carl Hester, GB, equestrianism 1 gold (London 2012)
44 years Robert Dover, USA, equestrianism 1 bronze (Sydney 2000)
Only lgbt athlete to compete in summer and winter Olympics
Christine Witty, USA speed skating 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006
cycling 2000
Lgbt Olympians who are, or have been, partners of other lgbt Olympians
Judith Arndt and Petra Rossner (both Germany, cycling)
Paul O’Brien and Blyth Tait (both New Zealand, equestrianism)
Camilla Andersen (Denmark, handball) and Mia Hundvin (Norway, handball)
Alyson Annan (Australia, hockey) and Carole Thate (Netherlands, hockey)
Lotte Kiaerskou and Rikke Skov (both Denmark, handball)
Lisa Raymond (USA, tennis) and Rennae Stubbs (Australia, tennis)
Gro Hammerseng and Katia Nyberg (both Norway, football/soccer)
Jessica Harrison and Carole Péon (both France, triathlon)
Sanne van Kerkhof and Ireen Wüst (both Netherlands, speed skating)
Hans Peter Minderhoud and Edward Gal (Netherlands, equestrianism)
Ondrej Nepela (Czechoslovakia, figure skating) and Toller Cranston (Canada, figure skating)