Of the 11 queer parents I know of who were competing in the Tokyo Olympics, six medaled (one twice!) and four came away with gold. That’s better than average odds, which I’d like to think means that being an LGBTQ parent increases your chances of getting an Olympic medal. (Well, maybe not—but read on for some fun if dubious statistics and a lot of appreciation for these athletes.)
Overall, according to NBC, 11,091 athletes were expected to compete in 339 events at the Tokyo Olympics, which means a total of 1,017 medals (gold, silver, and bronze, leaving aside the few times when multiple medals were awarded for ties). That means about one in 11 athletes will come home with a medal. Of the 185 LGBTQ athletes competing, 32 earned medals, according to Outsports. That’s about one in 6. Look just at the LGBTQ parents competing, though, and the odds drop to more than one in two.
Does being queer—or better yet, a queer parent, really increase your chances of a medal? Well, no. If it was that easy, I would have been in Tokyo myself, as I’ve done a few sports fairly seriously over the years. But clearly, being LGBTQ and/or a parent is no barrier to achievement in sports (or anything else for that matter)—and perhaps, learning about commitment and overcoming obstacles in one area carries over to another.
Being a world-class athlete is hard. Being a parent at the same time is even harder. Yet these athletes have shown us it’s possible to be both. Congratulations to all!
Here’s the medal count:
- Kelly Brazier, Rugby, New Zealand: Gold
- Tom Daley, Diving, Great Britain: Gold (synchronized), bronze (platform)
- Lina Hurtig, Soccer/football, Sweden: Silver
- Hedvig Lindahl, Soccer/football, Sweden: Silver
- Diana Taurasi, Basketball, USA: Gold
- Portia Woodman, Rugby, New Zealand: Gold
[UPDATE: 8/16/2021: Breanna Stewart (Basketball, USA: Gold) has just become a parent. While she technically wasn’t yet a parent when she won the medal, there are nevertheless now eight Tokyo Olympic medals, five gold, worn by queer parents.]
These queer parents competed but did not medal, though they still deserve praise:
- Leilani Mitchell, Basketball, Australia
- Sherida Spitse, Soccer/football, Netherlands
- Sam Stosur, Tennis, Australia
- Stefanie van der Gragt, Soccer/football, Netherlands
- SofÃa Mulanovich, Surfing, Peru
Also, a shout-out to diver Jordan Windle, who has a gay dad (making the men’s platform diving competition with Tom Daley a festival of queer families).
(These counts are based on my knowledge of who’s a parent among the 182 out Olympians identified by Outsports this year. If you know of anyone I missed, please leave a comment!)
And don’t forget to watch these three queer parents in the upcoming Paralympics:
- Asya Miller, Goalball, USA
- Moran Samuel, Rowing, Israel
- Lee Pearson, Great Britain, Para-dressage (foster parent)