These courageous Team LGBTQ athletes all won gold at the Commonwealth Games
The 2026 Commonwealth Games begins in Glasgow on Thursday, and in recent years, a number of out LGBTQ athletes have excelled.
Mark
More than 120 LGBTQ athletes are known to have competed at the Commonwealth Games, which begins its 2026 edition in Glasgow on Thursday, and traces its history all the way back to 1930.
However, for much of the multisport event’s long history, gay sports stars felt they had no choice but to keep their true selves hidden away.
Famous champions like swimmers Ian Thorpe of Australia and Mark Tewksbury of Canada were not publicly out during the years in which they competed.
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Commonwealth Games put countries with anti-gay laws on blast
An installation of flags features anti-gay nations with anti-LGBTQ laws at the Commonwealth Games, which begins in Glasgow this week.
Fortunately, times have changed — but not completely, as the majority of Commonwealth nations still retain their colonial-era anti-gay laws.
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At the last edition in Birmingham, England, in 2022, there were more than 40 out LGBTQ athletes, a big increase on the 13 who formed Team LGBTQ at Gold Coast 2018.
For those who are unfamiliar with this major international sports event, what we now call the Commonwealth Games began nearly a century ago as the British Empire Games. It has been held every four years since then, except during WWII.
The Commonwealth of Nations is a voluntary association of 56 member states, most of whom (but not all) were previously part of the British Empire. The nations remain connected to this day through culture, history and language, as well as governmental relations.
Some Commonwealth countries were never part of the British Empire, such as recent additions Gabon and Togo. For the Commonwealth Games, territories and dependencies have their own associations, which means 74 teams are set to compete at a slimmed-down Glasgow 2026.
That means you get big names from Australia, Canada and England going up against athletes from small islands with tiny populations such as Montserrat, Niue and Saint Helena.
Naturally, the vast majority of the out athletes from Commonwealth Games history have hailed from the larger nations.
Here are seven courageous stars who competed as proud members of Team LGBTQ during the Games and brought home gold for their countries…
Matthew Mitcham (Australia, diving)
Mitcham made history when he came out as gay ahead of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, where he famously won gold. He continued his success at the Delhi 2010 Commonwealth Games, earning an impressive four silver medals. Four years later, at Glasgow 2014, he reached the top step of the podium, capturing a gold medal in the synchro 10-meter platform event with Domonic Bedggood, and picked up two more silvers as well.
Tom Daley (England, diving)
Daley was already an Olympic medalist and world champion who was firmly in the public eye when he came out publicly in late 2013. He had already won two gold medals at Delhi 2010, but as an out gay athlete, he added to his golden Commonwealth Games tally with two more in the 10-meter platform at Glasgow 2014 and the 10-meter synchro at Gold Coast 2018, the latter with Daniel Goodfellow as his partner.
Michelle-Lee Ahye (Trinidad & Tobago, track)
Sprint star Ahye made history at the Gold Coast 2018 Games by winning the women’s 100-meters — the first gold medal for a female Trinidadian track and field athlete. However, during the Games, her personal life became a point of major media attention after she was outed online. Despite the invasive coverage, Ahye remained focused, standing tall as a trailblazer and world-class sprinter for her nation, for whom she would be flagbearer at the Opening Ceremony in Birmingham four years later.
@commonwealthsport Gold for
in the Women’s 100m in 2018!
♬ original sound – Glasgow 2026
Caster Semenya (South Africa, track)
At Gold Coast 2018, middle-distance legend Semenya showcased her speed and endurance by completing a rare double, winning gold in both the women’s 800-meter and 1,500-meter events. Soon after, World Athletics (then known as the IAAF) announced new eligibility rules which impacted heavily on Semenya and other DSD athletes.
@commonwealthsport Unstoppable.
Ashleigh Brazill (Australia, netball)
Dual-sport sensation Brazill helped lead Australia’s netball team, the Diamonds, to glory at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games. Playing as a wing defense, Brazill was crucial in securing the gold medal victory over Jamaica, competing proudly as an out athlete. She has since returned to playing professional Australian rules football; aged 36, she is currently with Fremantle in the AFLW.
Michaela Walsh (Northern Ireland, boxing)
Walsh had faced heartbreak in previous Commonwealth Games, taking home silver medals in both 2014 and 2018. However, a year after publicly coming out, Walsh achieved her long-held dream at Birmingham 2022. She boxed brilliantly to win the featherweight gold medal for Northern Ireland, for whom she competed alongside her brother, Aidan Walsh, who also won gold in his division.
Sharni Smale (Australia, rugby sevens)
Smale (nee Williams) was a cornerstone of Australia’s rugby sevens dominance for a decade. A passionate advocate for LGBTQ visibility in sport, she capped off an extraordinary tournament at Birmingham 2022 by helping Australia defeat Fiji in the final to take home the gold medal, wearing rainbow-colored headgear.
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