All 7 of the out gay and bi figure skaters at the Milan Winter Olympics
At least 7 out LGBTQ athletes are competing in figure skating at the Milan Winter Olympics, including a half dozen men and the first woman. The post All 7 of the out gay and bi figure skaters at the Milan Winter Olympics appeared first on Outsports.
Mark
The Milan Winter Olympics will be the gayest ever and will feature a record-setting 45 publicly LGBTQ athletes including a record number of out figure skaters competing.
“There are 35 out women and 10 out men, a 7-2 ratio,” Outsports editor Jim Buzinski pointed out earlier this week in an overview of Team LGBTQ. “The one major sport where out male athletes outnumber women is figure skating, with Milan having at least six men and one woman.”
In addition to the LGBTQ athletes, there are at least two out gay coaches who will be coaching athletes in Milan for the Winter Olympics:
- Jorik Hendrickx of Belgium, coaching his sister, Loena Hendrickx
- Drew Meekins of the USA, coaching pair Danny O’Shea and Ellie Kam
So we’d like to shine a spotlight on Milan’s sensational septet of openly queer figure skaters sashaying the ice this winter.
Get off the sidelines and into the game
Our weekly playbook is packed with everything from locker room chatter to pressing LGBTQ sports issues.
Subscribe to our Newsletter today
Related
Gay US figure skating coach leads a team in the Olympics, 16 years after his dream ended
Drew Meekins will fulfill his Olympic dream with Team USA coaching skating pair Danny O’Shea and Ellie Kam.
Filippo Ambrosini, Italy
Serving as the sole openly gay figure skater for the home team of Italy this year, Ambrosini will be returning with his Beijing Olympics partner, Rebecca Ghilardi. Although the pair placed 16th in the short program as a result of Ghilardi falling twice during their performance, 2022 was also notable for Ambrosini as the year he publicly confirmed his sexuality.
“Yes, I identify as gay and I’m out,” he told Outsports.
Kevin Aymoz, France
One of two openly gay figure skaters representing France this winter, Aymoz has been out since 2021.
“I lied to myself all my adolescence and lying to oneself is lying to others, to those around him,” he said, speaking about his choice to come out as gay during a 2021 interview with Ici Paris. “At some point the pressure is too high.”
Five years later, Aymoz is fully embracing his gay pride, exemplified by this season’s short program performance choreographed to Lady Gaga’s “Judas.”
Guillaume Cizeron, France
A gold medalist from the Beijing Winter Olympics, Cizeron came out as gay in 2020 via a post commemorating the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia featuring an image with his partner.
“I wanted to share this publicly because it was world day against homophobia and transphobia,” he told the French queer media outlet Têtu. “I told myself that by living in Montreal, one of the cities where we feel the most free as a person from the LGBT community, we tend to forget how this is not the case everywhere in Canada and in other countries, even in France. So exposing oneself serves the cause.”
While his personal partnership is solid, he has suffered a schism in his professional relationship. Earlier this year, Cizeron accused his lifelong skating partner Gabriella Papadakis of conducting a smear campaign against him in her new memoir. This year will be the first Olympics where Cizeron competes with his current pairs partner Fournier Beaudry.
Lewis Gibson, Great Britain
Gibson and his long-time partner Lihah Fear, aka the Disco Brits, are another duo returning from the Beijing Olympics. 2022 was also significant for Gibson as the year he came out as gay.
“I’ve seen so many people who have gone before me and just living their truth and being so authentic when they perform in their sport and really just wanting that for myself as well,” said Gibson during an interview with Outsports‘ Cyd Zeigler. “I can’t live never sharing who I am and sharing who I love. And I’m really glad, as time has progressed, I’m doing things like this and embracing this side of me more.”
Amber Glenn, United States
America’s Amber Glenn makes history this year as the first openly lesbian figure skater to compete in the Olympics. Glenn credits her decision to come out as the impetus driving her success.
“I’ve always been physically capable. That was never a question,” Glenn told Outsports. “It was always a mental and competence problem. It was internal battles for so long: when to lean into my strengths and when to work on my weaknesses, when to finally let myself portray the way I am off the ice on the ice. That really started when I came out publicly.”
Paul Poirier, Canada
Canada’s Poirier is notable for snatching a silver medal at the World Championships with a program choreographed to a mash-up of RuPaul’s gay anthem “Supermodel.” Last year, he scored another major win when he and his BF Kevin got engaged.
Filip Taschler, Czech Republic
Taschler, and his sister/pairs partner Natálie Taschlerová, will be returning to the Olympics following their debut in the Beijing Olympics. The siblings confessed they fought a lot as kids, but they bonded dancing to the songs of gay icons like Donna Summers and Jennifer Lopez.
“We are working so hard on this relationship,” Taschler said. “Our relationship is better since we started skating together. When we were younger, we fought like small kids, but now we are adults. We respect each other.”
Subscribe to the Outsports newsletter to keep up with your favorite out athletes, inspiring LGBTQ sports stories, and more.
The post All 7 of the out gay and bi figure skaters at the Milan Winter Olympics appeared first on Outsports.
