Adam Rippon, John Curry and figure skatg's plex history wh gay athlet | Figure skatg | The Guardian

Contents:

• THERE HAVE BEEN AT LEAST 39 GAY OLYMPIC FIGURE SKATERS. HERE’S THE LIST
• 16 GAY AND BI OLYMPIC FIGURE SKATERS
• THREE OLYMPIC FIGURE SKATERS E OUT — 2 GAY MEN AND 1 QUEER WOMAN
• A LOOK BACK AT LGBT SPORTS HISTORY: RUDY GALDO BLAZED A TRAIL FOR GAY FIGURE SKATERS
• THERE ARE 8 OUT GAY MALE SKATERS AT THE OLYMPICS. IN 2014, THERE WERE 0.
• A LOOK BACK AT RUDY GALDO, THE OPENLY GAY FIGURE SKATER WHO MA HISTORY
• ADAM RIPPON, JOHN CURRY AND FIGURE SKATG'S PLEX HISTORY WH GAY ATHLET

THERE HAVE BEEN AT LEAST 39 GAY OLYMPIC FIGURE SKATERS. HERE’S THE LIST

There have been at least 39 gay men to pete figure skatg at the Wter Olympic Gam over the years, wh eight publicly out men petg 2022. LGBT historian Tony Scupham-Bilton has intified the men over the years, cludg a pastakg procs of intifyg who is gay. The gay men have bed for 15 Olympic medals, wh several ready to pete pairs figure skatg later this week.

Five other gay athlet have been named as alternat.

In addn to the 37 gay men, Timothy LeDuc is nonbary and will make their Olympic but this week. Six of the gay men to pete have won Olympic gold medals:.

16 GAY AND BI OLYMPIC FIGURE SKATERS

When Adam Rippon pet at the Olympics this year, will be the first time an openly gay figure skater reprents the Uned Stat an dividual event.

THREE OLYMPIC FIGURE SKATERS E OUT — 2 GAY MEN AND 1 QUEER WOMAN

But figure skatg has always provid an athletic arena for gay men, even if most historilly waed to e out publicly after their Olympic reer me to a close. But he kept his sexualy a private matter until 2014, when the Uned Stat sent a legatn to Rsia ma up of high-profile gay athlet. "I never felt like I need to before, so whether people figured out if I was gay or not, I had to make official, why I had to e out publicly.

But he never mentned beg gay until he started playg hockey for the Toronto Gay Hockey Associatn, where he started lerally wearg that part of his inty on his sleeve, somethg he discsed wh The Hockey News Curry, Uned Kgdom, Men's SglThe Brish skater, famo for brgg ballet and dance mov to men's sgl, won the gold at the 1976 gam Innsbck, where he also acted as flag bearer for his natn. Shortly before petg at Worlds that same year, the German newspaper Bild-Zeung outed Curry as gay, g a mor sndal Europe, but Curry went on to w the event anyway, makg him the first skater to w the European, Olympic and World champnships a sgle season, acrdg to the BBC. While qutns about the flamboyant skater followed him through his reer -- two Canadian broadsters ught flak and spired a Pri Hoe prott after makg homophobic ments about Weir at the 2010 Olympics -- he did not e out until 2011, when he revealed he was gay his memoir, Wele to My World.

Skaters would later say McCall's homosexualy had been an open secret wh the sport. Stt Haton his book Landg It later creded Pockar and Rob McCall for helpg him get over personal homophobia, but Haton also got cricized for posthumoly outg the O'Meara, USA, Ice DancgThe ice dancer reprented the Uned Stat at the 2006 gam Toro alongsi skatg partner Jamie Silverste. He me out publicly as gay 2008, and told that many gay skaters pete but don't discs their sexualy publicly.

A LOOK BACK AT LGBT SPORTS HISTORY: RUDY GALDO BLAZED A TRAIL FOR GAY FIGURE SKATERS

The gay skater prevly hoped to make the team 2006 and 2010 but fell short both years.

THERE ARE 8 OUT GAY MALE SKATERS AT THE OLYMPICS. IN 2014, THERE WERE 0.

You n fd untls pop culture referenc about skatg where 's a punch le to a joke -- TV shows like Friends ("I'm an ice dancer -- all my iends are gay! That uldn't be farther om the prence of queer skaters the sport n be traced as far back as the 1950s, wasn't until 2018 that Adam Rippon and Eric Radford beme the first out gay figure skaters to pete at the Olympics.

" Of urse, there have been numero gay skaters at the Olympics -- multiple queer Olympic champns, even...

A LOOK BACK AT RUDY GALDO, THE OPENLY GAY FIGURE SKATER WHO MA HISTORY

I thk as I got olr, was fely this ternalized sense of homophobia that I felt was pletely rampant. So I skated to Ida Corr, this club song om 2007 (keepg current), and you know, was kda gay.

And so I remember I jt kept this program and I skated at Skate Ameri, this like gay-ish program. We had to sort of play by those l bee beg gay on the Olympic stage and the world stage, an ele athlete, you have to be reful bee the reputatn of endorsements was on the table. So we had to be very mdful of that, and I knew that, so I had to sort of lie and not be tthful about all [my skatg partner Tai and I] turned pro 1980, and did Ice Capas and all that, was a ltle better bee people on the show were gay.

ADAM RIPPON, JOHN CURRY AND FIGURE SKATG'S PLEX HISTORY WH GAY ATHLET

I thk that the outsi assumptn is that everybody skatg is gay, and that bee of that would jt be a very safe place for queer people. As soon as I entered a more ser rk when I was around 10, and really started pursug more serly, I was super, super nsc of the fact that they were nng a b through every kid through the lens of "Is this kid gay? " I mean, I was asked if I was gay at a very, very young age and told that I was gay and told that I was very, very, very gay-- jt like the most.