Team LGBTQ+ is heading to the 2026 Commonwealth Games hoping for lots of gold medals.
The 23rd Commonwealth Games will be held in Glasgow, Scotland from July 23rd to August 2nd. This year we will feature only 10 sports, cutting our regular program in half.
This means a small outing for Team LGBTQ+. But there are still many queer athletes competing in the 2026 Commonwealth Games…
amy atwell
Amy Atwell is a star player for the Perth Lynx and Australian national basketball teams. The 28-year-old has an impressive career record, including bronze at the 2024 Paris Olympics and silver at this year’s FIBA 3×3 World Cup.
Atwell will make his Commonwealth debut as part of Australia’s 3×3 team this year. Additionally, she is in a long-term relationship with basketball player and teammate Alex ‘Allie’ Wilson.
julie charlton
Julie Charlton will make her debut at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. The 27-year-old Australian will compete in the shot put parasport. She placed 9th in the women’s shot put F57. This is the first time since 2010 that shot put for athletes with disabilities has been featured on the program.
Along with being a competitor, Charlton is also an advocate for disability, mental health, and queer people. She is also a member of the New South Wales Disability Council, which is part of the New South Wales Government.
Gabriela Debus Stafford
Canadian middle-distance runner Gabriella Debus-Stafford is the track’s star. The 30-year-old two-time Olympian competed in the 2018 Commonwealth Games. She was scheduled to compete in the 2022 Olympics, but had to end her season prematurely due to injury.
DeBues-Stafford is a bisexual athlete. In 2021, she dyed her hair rainbow colors to visibly show her affiliation with the LGBTQ+ community. She is also married to a man and used herself as an example of bisexual erasure and straight assumptions.
seamus derbyshire
26-year-old British track and field athlete Seamus Derbyshire will compete in the 400m hurdles. He won a silver medal at the 2017 Commonwealth Youth Games, but will make his Commonwealth debut in 2026.
Derbyshire is gay and has been praised online for introducing himself before the race. Additionally, at the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, Derbyshire imitated Wicked’s Glinda’s “tostos” hair flick and blowing kisses to the audience. He hopes to inspire other gay athletes by participating in sports himself.
robin love
Scottish wheelchair basketball player Robin Love represented Great Britain at the 2016 and 2024 Paralympic Games. After playing in the 2022 Olympics, Love will compete in wheelchair 3×3 basketball at the 2026 Commonwealth Games.
The 35-year-old is a lesbian and is engaged to wheelchair basketball player and teammate Rory Williams. They have a child together. Love is also an ambassador for the British Elite Athletes Association (BEAA) and Athlete Ally.
lori thomas
British and Welsh cyclist Lori Thomas finished third as part of Team Sprint at the 2022 Commonwealth Games. Since then, the 27-year-old has steadily climbed the ranks.
Thomas won silver medals at the 2025 UCI Track Cycling Nations Cup and the 2026 European Championships. Thomas shared through Instagram that he is a member of the LGBTQ+ community.
Malena Whittle
Malena Whittle has been selected for the Australian 3×3 basketball team for the 2026 Commonwealth Games. As part of the national team, she won a gold medal at the 2024 FIBA 3×3 Asian Cup and was also selected for Australia’s first 3×3 Olympic team for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
After the Olympics, Whittle became engaged to fellow professional basketball player Anneli Maley. Both Maley and Whittle are formidable presences on the court and have made their mark as LGBTQ+ representatives more broadly.
Michaela Walsh
Michaela Walsh is a Northern Irish boxing star who competes at featherweight. She has won numerous medals including two silver medals and one gold medal at the Commonwealth Games. She is aiming for more gold medals as she prepares for the 2026 Olympics.
“The sport has changed a lot. If you had told me 10 to 15 years ago that the number (of medals) would be the same, I would have said, ‘There’s no hope in hell.’ For that to happen shows how much women’s boxing has grown,” she said. said Before the Glasgow Games.
These athletes will be participating in this year’s Olympics, but there are also many notable LGBTQ athletes who have competed in the past…
Michelle-Lee Ayet: Trinidadian track and field athlete who won gold at the 2018 Commonwealth Games.
Ashley Brazil: She won a gold medal as part of the Australian netball team at the 2022 Olympics.
Tom Bosworth: British race walker who has competed in the Olympics twice, holds world records three times and holds one Commonwealth silver medal.
Hannah Cozens: Welsh hockey player competing in the 2022 Olympics.
Tom Daley: One of England’s most famous gay athletes, the diver has won five Commonwealth medals, four gold medals and one silver medal.
Stacey Francis Bayman: Member of the England netball team that won a bronze medal at the 2010 Olympics.
Kirsty Gilmore: The first European badminton champion from Scotland. Gilmore is a lesbian and one of the few LGBTQ+ professional badminton players.
Amy Jones: British cricketers qualified for the 2022 Olympics. Also, she is married to Australian cricketer Piepa Cleary.
Ossian Jones: Jones, a retired Welsh Athletics hammer thrower, set the record in 2017 and came out publicly in 2022.
Sarah Jane Perry: This squash player has won two silver medals and one bronze medal. She married her partner in 2024 and has two children.
Natalie Powell: She is the first British female judoka to be ranked number one in the world and won gold at the 2014 Commonwealth Games.
Katherine Silver-Blunt: The former cricketer, who is married to teammate Nat Silver-Blunt, played in England’s first match at the 2022 Commonwealth Games.
Nat Silver-Blunt: The English cricketer, who is married to fellow English cricketer Catherine Brunt, was vice-captain at the 2022 Commonwealth Games.
Mark Tewkesbury: Legendary Canadian swimmer who holds four Commonwealth gold medals. He came out in 1998 after retiring from the sport.
Ciara Torrance: The Scottish badminton player, who uses she/they pronouns, competed in the 2022 Olympics.
Delmy Tucker: South African cricket player who participated in the 2022 Olympics.
Lorraine Ugen: The British long jumper won gold at the 2018 Olympics.
Leah Wilkinson: The Welsh defensive hockey player participated in the 2010, 2014 and 2018 Commonwealth Games.
Sharni Williams: Australian rugby players have won silver and gold medals in the Commonwealth. Williams is a lesbian and married her partner in 2023.
Source: PinkNews | Latest lesbian, gay, bi and trans news | LGBTQ+ news – www.thepinknews.com
