Winter Olympic champion won 3 gold medals and then revealed her 12-year same-sex relationship
Olympic gold medal speedskater Martina Sablikova revealed her 12-year relationship because 'some people were trying to speak on my behalf.' The post Winter Olympic champion won 3 gold medals and then revealed her 12-year same-sex relationship appeared first on Outsports.
Mark
Three-time Olympic gold medal speedskater Martina Sablikova has been in a relationship with a Czech teammate for 12 years and wanted to be the one to tell the world.
“You guys know I’ve always kept my private life private — and that’s not going to change, because it truly matters to me,” Sablikova wrote on Instagram. “But recently, I’ve felt like some people have been trying to speak on my behalf, and it’s become a bit too much.
“So here it is, straight from me: Niky Zdráhalová and I are a couple. She’s been my rock, we’re happy, and we’ve been sharing a beautiful life together for over 12 years. Spread love! ❤️”
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Sablikova, 37, did not say which people were trying to speak on her behalf, but it’s clear she was trying to set the narrative. She posted this in the spring, but Czech speedskating is not our radar and we just found out about it and think it’s important to highlight all out LGBTQ athletes, especially Olympians.
It’s also important that LGBTQ athletes be the ones who decide when they come out and in what fashion. That’s why it’s great that Sablikova leaned into the power and love of her relationship, without apologies.
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Sablikova won two gold medals in speedskating at the 2010 Winter Olympics and one gold at the 2014 Games. She also won a silver medal in 2014 and 2018 and bronze medals in 2010 and 2022. This year she tied the women’s speedskating record for individual medals with 27. She is also aiming to compete in the 2026 Winter Milan-Cortina Olympics in Italy. Zdrahalova, her partner, competed in the 2018 Winter Olympics.
There were two out speedskaters at the 2022 Beijing Olympics, Ireen Wust of the Netherlands and Brittany Bowe of the U.S.
2026 update: At the Milan Games, in her final Olympics, Sablikova finished 11th in the 5,000 meters.“I started in Torino, and I ended in Milano. Thank you for everything, Milano,” she said after her race.
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The post Winter Olympic champion won 3 gold medals and then revealed her 12-year same-sex relationship appeared first on Outsports.
