Although queer parents made up a small fraction of the record-breaking number of out queer athletes at the Paris Olympics, an astonishingly high percentage of them came home with medals. Meet them here—and see some of the kids’ reactions to their parents’ new hardware!
Of the 199 out athletes at the Paris Games, I’ve been able to identify 11 who are parents. Nine of those 11—just over 80%—won medals, versus 22% of LGBTQ Olympians overall. (Thanks, OutSports!) Fact is, I may have missed some queer athletes who are parents, since not every athlete is public about their personal life and may choose to protect their child(ren)’s privacy, so take those numbers with a grain of salt. (I’ll update this post if I receive additional information.)
On the face of it, though, queer parents seem to have a very high rate of medaling. Is there a parental edge? I haven’t found numbers for parent medalists overall (queer and non-queer), so that remains an open question. I will observe, however, that people tend to be a little older when they become parents, and for athletes, being older can mean being more experienced, at least until one gets too old to compete at the elite level in one’s sport (though this varies by sport). Parents may also have extra incentive to perform well for their kids.
We can only hypothesize—but it’s a good thing the Olympics are starting to offer improved childcare facilities for parent athletes. Even though the Olympics as a whole favors younger people, who are less likely to be parents (even if they plan to be someday), parents are clearly a significant part of the Games.
Regardless of the reasons, let’s celebrate these athletes and parents and admire how they’ve managed to balance raising kids and elite competition, all while giving us visible models of queer parenthood.
Gold
The U.S. Women’s Basketball Team accounted for most of the queer parents at the Games, and with their gold medal victory, it’s no surprise it has the most medalists:
- Chelsea Gray (Basketball, USA), who has a baby with spouse Tipesa Gray, a former NCAA and American Samoan national player. The little one found her medal tasty:
- Brittney Griner (Basketball, USA), a now-three-time Olympian but the newest parent on the list, who had a baby with spouse Cherelle Griner, an attorney, on July 8. (The couple has not posted photos of their child.)
- Breanna Stewart (Basketball, USA), who has a child with Spanish pro player and former WNBA player Marta Xargay Casademont. Their kids were prominent in Stewart’s video after the gold medal game:
- Six-time Olympic gold medalist Diana Taurasi (Basketball, USA), has two children with former WNBA player and spouse Penny Taylor. Their kids were there for Taurasi’s latest gold-medal moment:
The team’s head coach, Cheryl Reeve, also head coach of the WNBA’s Minnesota Lynx, has a child with her spouse, singer and Minnesota Lynx vice president Carley Knox.
Also winning gold in Paris:
- Portia Woodman-Wickliffe (Rugby, New Zealand), who is raising a child with former teammate Renee Woodman-Wickliffe.
Silver
- Tom Daley (Diving, Great Britain), and husband Dustin Lance Black, a screenwriter, director and producer, welcomed their second child last year, and the kids came to watch their Papa compete:
- Tamires Cássia Dias de Britto (Soccer, Brazil), is in a relationship with singer Gabi Fernandes and has a child from a previous relationship.
- Emma Twigg (Rowing, New Zealand), and wife Charlotte had a child in 2022. Here he is wearing her medal:
- Sami Whitcomb (Basketball, Australia), who has two children with spouse Kate Malpass, an Australian professional basketball player. Too cute:
Bronze
No queer parent athletes won bronze, to the best of my knowledge, but Emilie Bydwell, head coach of U.S. Women’s Olympic Rugby Sevens, led her team to bronze. Bydwell has a daughter with her spouse, former English national player and current rugby coach Michaela Staniford.
