Stars of gay hockey show ‘Heated Rivalry’ will be Winter Olympics torchbearers
It’s been confirmed that Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie will be part of the Olympic Torch Relay ahead of Milano Cortina 2026. The post Stars of gay hockey show ‘Heated Rivalry’ will be Winter Olympics torchbearers appeared first on Outsports.
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Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie, the stars of breakout gay hockey drama “Heated Rivalry,” have officially been named as torchbearers for the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics.
It’s not yet known exactly where and when the two actors will carry the Olympic Torch, which is making its way through the northeast of Italy on Thursday and Friday.
The news of Williams and Storrie’s selection was announced in a statement by HBO Max.
“Heated Rivalry” will start airing in Italy on Feb. 1 on the channel, which is an official Olympic rights holder this year.
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There are 16 days left to go until the Opening Ceremony at the San Siro stadium in Milan on Feb. 6.
Seeing Shane Hollander (Williams) and Ilya Rozanov (Storrie) as torchbearers is almost a case of life imitating art.
In Season 1 of “Heated Rivalry,” the characters play for Canada and Russia respectively at the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics.
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Slight spoiler — in the show, the host nation is humiliated by Latvia, while Hollander and the Canadians come away with a gold medal.
Williams will no doubt be hoping that he can help bring similar good fortune to the current Canadian men’s team, who are already the hot tips to win the tournament. The U.S. are second favorites.
This latest honor for the “Heated Rivalry” stars follows on from their roles as Golden Globes award presenters and other recent red carpet appearances off the back of the show’s extraordinary success.
@milanocortina2026 IT’S REAL! Connor Storrie and Hudson Williams will carry the Flame! Connor Storrie e Hudson Williams poteranno la Fiamma!
There have been real-life “Team LGBTQ” Olympians who have carried the torch before an edition of the Winter Games.
Before Vancouver 2010, Mark Tewksbury, who won swimming gold at Barcelona in 1992, was among the bearers, alongside his fellow Canadians Brian Orser (silver in figure skating) and Marion Lay (bronze in swimming).
For Sochi 2014, there was a moment of controversy during the relay. As recalled by LGBTQ historian Tony Scupham-Bilton on his Queerstory Files blog: “With Russia’s anti-gay legislation still on people’s minds, many called for a boycott of the Games.
“Russian LGBTQ activist Pavel Lebechev, however, proudly unveiled a rainbow Pride flag [while] running behind the torch as it passed through his home town. He was arrested.”
Among the LGBTQ sportspeople taking part in the Milano Cortina 2026 relay are Olympic bronze medal-winning archer Lucilla Boari (Mantua, Jan. 19) and Switzerland international footballer Alisha Lehmann (Como, Feb. 3).
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The post Stars of gay hockey show ‘Heated Rivalry’ will be Winter Olympics torchbearers appeared first on Outsports.
