More than 40 openly LGBTQ athletes are expected to compete at the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics, which open on Friday.
Outsports.com memo Eight Americans, including speed skater Connor McDermott Mostowy and figure skater Amber Glenn, are among 44 openly LGBTQ athletes competing in the games. The LGBTQ sports website also reports that Swedish mogul skier Elise Lundholm is the first openly transgender athlete to compete in the Winter Olympics.
“I’ve always been very athletic, there was no question about that,” Glenn told Outsports.com. “It’s always been a question of mentality and ability. It’s been a battle within myself for a long time: when to focus on my strengths, when to work on my weaknesses, when to finally express who I am off the ice on the ice. It started when I came out publicly.”
McDermott Mostowy is one of six athletes to benefit. out athlete fund, The group paid for Olympic-related training and travel. Other beneficiaries are freestyle skier Gus Kenworthy, speed skater Brittany Bowe, snowboarder Maddy Shaflick, alpine skier Breezy Johnson, and Paralympic nordic skier Jake Adikoff.
Out Athlete Fund and Pride House Los Angeles – West Hollywood A free viewing party for the opening ceremony will be held on Friday.
“When athletes feel seen and accepted, they feel freer to focus on their performance instead of hiding who they are,” Haley Caruso, vice chair of the Out Athlete Fund board, told the Los Angeles Blade.
Four Italian LGBTQ advocacy organizations (Arcegay, CIG Arciegay Milano, Milano Pride and Pride Sports Milano) have organized the Pride House of Games, which will be installed at the MEET Digital Culture Center in Milan.
Pride House says on its website that during the convention it will “host a diverse range of events and activities organized by associations, activists and cultural organizations that share Pride’s values.” These include the opening party, performed by Checcoro, Milan’s first LGBTQ chorus;
ILGA World, in partnership with Pride House, is co-sponsoring the Feb. 21 event focused on LGBTQ inclusion in sports. Transparalympian Valentina Petrillo will also take part in a debate moderated by Simone Arriba, a journalist who writes for Italian newspaper Domani.
“This event focuses on transgender people, explores inclusivity in sport, including at amateur level, and focuses on the role of civil society, lived experiences and the voices of athletes,” Milan Pride said on its website.
The Games are being held against the backdrop of the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee’s decision to ban trans women from competing in women’s sports.
Last February, President Donald Trump issued an executive order banning trans women and girls from U.S. women’s sports teams. In response to the directive, a group of Republican lawmakers called on the International Olympic Committee to ban transgender athletes from participating in women’s sports competitions.
The 2021 IOC is “Framework on equity, inclusion and non-discrimination based on gender identity and gender diversity” This includes the following provisions:
• 3.1 Eligibility standards should be fairly established and enforced in a manner that does not systematically exclude athletes from competition on the basis of gender identity, physical appearance, and/or gender differences.
• 3.2 Athletes should be allowed to compete in the category most appropriate to their self-determined gender identity, provided they meet eligibility criteria consistent with Principle 4 (‘Equity’).
• 3.3 The criteria for determining disproportionate competitive advantage may, in some cases, require testing of an athlete’s performance and physical ability. However, athletes should not be subjected to targeted testing because of, or for the purpose of determining, their gender, gender identity, and/or sexual diversity.
The 2034 Winter Olympics are scheduled to be held in Salt Lake City. The 2028 Summer Olympics will be held in Los Angeles.
Source: Washington Blade: LGBTQ News, Politics, LGBTQ Rights, Gay News – www.washingtonblade.com
