3 out LGBTQ players on U.S. women’s Olympic hockey roster, including one dating another Olympian
Captain Hilary Knight is joined by her Seattle Torrent teammates Alex Carpenter and Cayla Barnes on the confirmed roster. The post 3 out LGBTQ players on U.S. women’s Olympic hockey roster, including one dating another Olympian appeared first on Outsports.
Mark
The U.S. women’s hockey team are the title favorites for next month’s Winter Olympics, and their quest for gold will be spearheaded by a captain who’s out as queer.
Hilary Knight is one of the greatest players the game has ever seen, and she already has a gold medal from PyeongChang 2018, plus three silvers from Vancouver 2010, Sochi 2014 and Beijing 2022.
The 36-year-old forward has said this will be the last tournament of her Team USA career, while it will be her first as part of Team LGBTQ.
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At the end of 2022, Knight confirmed she was dating another Team USA Winter Olympic medalist — speed skater Brittany Bowe. The couple first met while competing in South Korea, and Knight said being in a relationship gave her the confidence to come out publicly.
In 2024, the two Olympians bought a home together in Salt Lake City. Bowe will join Knight in Italy after successfully qualifying from the U.S. long track trials in Milwaukee.
At least two more of the 23 players on the U.S. hockey roster are LGBTQ, and both play alongside Knight in the PWHL for Seattle Torrent.
Four years ago, Alex Carpenter announced her engagement to Steph Klein a month before the Beijing Olympics. The couple celebrated their wedding in Hawaii in summer 2023.
Carpenter’s wife posted to her Instagram story Friday, writing: “So proud of you, @carpy05!”
The 31-year-old Torrent forward has silver medals from Sochi and Beijing, at which she was the only American hockey player out as LGBTQ, among a total of 36 publicly out athletes at the Games.
Cayla Barnes was the youngest player on the U.S. team that won gold at PyeongChang 2018 — the defender was just 19 at the time — and retained her place on the Olympic roster for 2022.
In September 2025, she joined her girlfriend, Hope Walinski, in marking their three-year anniversary with Instagram posts.
Walinski is the goaltender for the Providence College Women’s Hockey team in Rhode Island.
For captain Knight, the representation which the trio will provide matters a great deal. She told NBC last summer: “I think it’s awesome that we have these great feats on ice and that also brings visibility and more storytelling to the space that is underrepresented in many ways.”
The prospect of competing at Milano Cortina 2026 at the same time as Bowe adds an extra layer of pride.
“Hopefully our story can have a small impact on someone in a positive way, and that’s just such a huge win,” added Knight.
Ten teams will contest the women’s hockey tournament, which commences Feb. 5 when Knight’s USA faces Czechia.
Four more group-stage games follow against Finland, Switzerland and archrivals Canada before the knockout stage, with the final on Feb. 19.
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The post 3 out LGBTQ players on U.S. women’s Olympic hockey roster, including one dating another Olympian appeared first on Outsports.
