When to watch Team LGBTQ athletes at the Olympics — 10 highlights coming up
The Team LGBTQ representation at Paris 2024 grows. Cheer on these athletes who are all in action in the first few days of competition. The post When to watch Team LGBTQ athletes at the Olympics — 10 highlights coming up appeared first on Outsports.
The serious business has begun at the Olympic Games.
Over 20 sports kicked off their Paris 2024 competitions on Saturday, joining archery, rugby sevens, handball and soccer, which all got under way before Friday’s Opening Ceremony.
The women’s handball and soccer tournaments both feature Team LGBTQ participants but now those who are chasing individual glory are starting to get their chance to shine too.
Outsports is tracking the fortunes of at least 175 publicly out LGBTQ athletes at these Games.
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Team LGBTQ at the 2024 Paris Summer Games
The list of out gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, queer and nonbinary Olympians will continue to grow.
To help you plan your viewing, here are 10 moments coming up on our specialist LGBTQ schedule that we recommend watching…
Times given are Paris, CEST — adjust for U.K., -1 BST; New York, -6 EDT; L.A., -9 PDT
Sunday, July 28
From 10am: Amandine Buchard, judo
Buchard won team gold and individual silver in Tokyo — she’ll again begin her -52kg challenge in the elimination round of 16. With a home crowd cheering her on in the Grand Palais Éphémère, and ranked fourth in the world, she’s fancied to make it into the latter stages, with the competition concluding later the same day.
(@buchardamandine_52)3.30pm: Evy Leibfarth, canoe slalom
Just 20 years old, Leibfarth is already a history maker as the first U.S. woman to qualify for an Olympic Games in three different canoe and kayak events. First up for her in Paris is the kayak slalom (K1) and she made it through Saturday’s heats in fourth place overall to reach the semifinals on Sunday. In Tokyo three years ago, the out bi athlete narrowly missed out on qualifying for the K1 final so the target at Vaires-sur-Marne will surely be to get there, with the final following on with a 5.45pm CEST start time.
From 7pm: Tyler Wright and Sarah Baum, surfing
Time for a change of scenery — take a trip to Tahiti to watch the world’s greatest women shortboarders in action, in the first elimination round. Australia’s Wright is top-10 ranked by the World Surf League but has had to have skull surgery in the build-up to the Olympics due to balance issues. Baum, of South Africa, qualified having clinched the African continent’s quota spot a year ago. The waves off the coast of Teahupo’o are formidable — Wright says “anyone who goes out there is a complete and utter psycho.” The competition continues over the next three days.
Monday, July 29
From 11am: Tom Daley, diving
When Daley won synchro 10m platform gold alongside Matty Lee in Tokyo, he said he was “incredibly proud” to stand on the podium as an out gay man. Now aged 30, could he make it back-to-back Olympic titles, this time with his husband and young sons watching on in the Aquatic Centre? Well, with dive partner Noah Williams, he took World Championships silver in Doha in February — so the Daley double is definitely on.
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Tuesday, July 30
11:11am: Nick Albiero, swimming
In a recent Q&A with Sportskeeda, U.S. born Albiero said: “If I can inspire or encourage just one gay boy, in or out of the pool, it’s all worth it to me.” The 25-year-old’s Olympic debut will come in Heat 4 of the 200m butterfly and having swum a PB of 1:55.52 in the Brazilian trials in May, he’s got a strong chance of making the semifinals in the evening if he can get close to that time. The final is on Wednesday night.
11:24am: Timo Cavelius, judo
Tune in for a little bit of Team LGBTQ Olympic history — Cavelius will be the first out gay man to compete in Olympic judo when he takes on Israel’s Sagi Muki in the -81kg round of 32. Should the German make it through, he’s likely to face South Korea’s Lee Joon-hwan who won bronze at each of the last two World Championships. It’s a tough task ahead; the competition concludes later the same day. Cavelius is also due to compete in the mixed team event on Aug. 3.
From 11:30am: Robbie Manson, rowing
The New Zealander has been a firm Outsports favorite since coming out publicly as gay nearly a decade ago. Manson began his third Olympic challenge Saturday alongside double sculls partner Jordan Parry in the heats — they finished second behind the Netherlands to safely progress through to Tuesday’s semifinals. The pair won World Cup bronze last month so will have high hopes of making it through to Thursday’s final.
3:30pm: Women’s rugby sevens
More than half of the teams in this tournament have out LGBTQ players on their squads so settle down for the semifinals and medal matches at the Stade de France. New Zealand, with Portia Woodman-Wickliffe in their squad, are favorites to retain the Olympic title they won in Tokyo, but Rio 2016 champions Australia — containing Sharni Smale, nee Williams, in her final sevens tournament — will be determined to stop them.
Wednesday, July 31
12:04pm and 5:06pm: Hergie Bacyadan, Cindy Ngamba, boxing
Middleweight (75kg) is the heaviest class in the women’s tournament and Bacyadan’s round-of-16 bout with Li Qian of China will be historic as he begins his Paris challenge — if he can get on the podium, he’ll be the first out trans man to win an Olympic medal. Later in the day, on the opposite side of the draw, the Refugee Olympic Team’s Ngamba takes on Tammara Thibeault of Canada. Ngamba fled Cameroon with her family in 2009 and came to the U.K. where at one stage she faced deportation. She was granted asylum in 2022 on the grounds of being a lesbian, as both male and female same-sex activity is illegal in the central African nation.
1:10pm: Hannah Roberts, Perris Benegas, Natalya Diehm, cycling BMX freestyle
A strong chance of a triple threat for Team LGBTQ in this final, with all three riders having finished in the top five in Tokyo three years ago. Roberts, who took silver at those Games in the event’s Olympic debut, will be representing the U.S. alongside Benegas, who finished fourth ahead of Diehm. This promises to be a thrilling watch in a superb location at the Place de la Concorde.
The post When to watch Team LGBTQ athletes at the Olympics — 10 highlights coming up appeared first on Outsports.
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