The concept of having a Pride House at an Olympics began at Vancouver 2010. “Gay athletes should have no fear to talk about their lives. You have Jason Collins (the basketball player) and Michael Sam (the football player), those were big stories but I think as time goes on people will start saying, ‘Why are we talking about this.'”īut a recent multi-nation study found that homophobia in sport still remains a significant problem, although Canadian sports culture was ranked as the most inclusive and progressive of six English-speaking nations – ahead of Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, United Kingdom, and the United States.Ĭanada’s top-echelon institutional sports progressiveness with supporting LGBTQ athletes is openly evident at Pyeongchang, where the Canadian Olympic Committee’s Canada House also doubles as a Pride House for all athletes around the world. “A big part was just feeling completely comfortable in own skin, in my life and in my skating. An opportunity presented itself when the Canadian Figure Skating Association announced a program to focus on LGBT issues in the sport,” he told the Ottawa Citizen.
Radford made his sexual orientation public in an interview with Out Sports in 2014, and just last year he publicly announced his engagement to Spanish ice dancer Luis Fenero. Extra hills to climb for athletes who identify as LGBTQ #Olympics #OpeningCeremony /OCeiqiY6BNĬonversely, the first openly gay athlete to win a gold medal in the Summer Olympics was Australian diver Matthew Mitcham at Beijing 2008.īut why does all of this still matter in 2018? Well, high profile, successful athletes who are open about their sexuality help break down stereotypes about LGBTQ individuals in sport and serve as a powerful inspiration to athletes around the world who are still in the closet.
#Olympic gay pride logo free#
The silver medal went to the Olympic Athletes Representing Russia while the bronze medal was won by the United States, which also had an openly gay athlete in the team event.Īdam Rippon, who placed third for the US in the men’s free program during the team event, is the first openly gay man to ever win a bronze medal. Seven #TeamCanada athletes become #PyeongChang2018 Olympic champions, after winning the #figureskating team event.
Overall with their combined scores, Canada won gold in the team event, with other members of the winning team consisting of Gabrielle Daleman, Patrick Chan, Kaetlyn Osmond, and power duo Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir. I’m a Canadian angel! #Olympics #Pyeongchang #gocanadago #openingceremony #figureskating #figureskater #goodtimesĪ post shared by Eric Radford on at 4:44am PST