While Gender and Sexuality shouldn’t matter when considering and celebrating the athletic achievements of others, the celebration of LGBT+ members in mainstream media can be key in both the self-acceptance and societal acceptance of LGBT+ rights. This is why I wanted to dedicate an athlete to each of the letters of the LGBT+ acronym and celebrate the successes they had in terms of athletic achievements.
Lesbian – Diana Taurasi
Diana Lorena Taurasi is an American professional basketball player for the Phoenix Mercury of the Women’s National Basketball Association and UMMC Ekaterinburg of Russia. Considered one of the greatest women to play basketball, Taurasi’s penchant for scoring in crucial situations has earned her the nickname “White Mamba”, first coined by Kobe Bryant.
Taurasi also played for Team USA in the 2016 Rio Olympics where she earned her fourth gold medal, as she helped the USA beat Spain 101–72 in the final. In 2018, Taurasi became the WNBA’s all-time leader in field goals – surpassing Tina Thompson. Taurasi has also earned her ninth career all-star appearance after being voted into the 2018 WNBA All-Star Game.
Taurasi married former teammate Penny Taylor in 2017 and on March 1, 2018 the couple welcomed their first child when Taylor gave birth to their son Leo Michael Taurasi-Taylor.
Gay – Hans Peter Minderhoud
Hans Peter Minderhoud is a Dutch dressage rider who has won himself four gold, three silver and three bronze medals. One silver was during the Olympics, whilst the other medals were won in dressage specific championships. Besides his sporting achievements he is also known to be very adept at training young horses.
His partner is fellow Dutch Dressage Athlete, Edward Gall. When asked in an interview if Hans ever felt like he was treated differently because of his sexuality, he answered: “No, I haven’t, but in our sport, it’s not an exception being gay.”
Bisexual – Kajsa Bergqvist
Kajsa Bergqvist is a former Swedish high jumper. She won six gold, one silver and three bronze medals. One of her bronze medals was won during the 2000 Olympics, whilst the others were won during athletic specific competitions. Her personal outdoor record of 2.06 m, set in Germany in 2003, is also the Swedish record. Her indoor record of 2.08 m, set at the ‘Hochsprung mit Musik’ meeting in 2006, is the world indoor record.
In December 2011, Bergqvis stated in an interview: “As lesbian as I feel today, as heterosexual I felt when I was together with Måns. But when I get old and look back on my life, perhaps one can think that I’m bisexual.” This announcement was made after a period of rumours concerning Bergqvist’s personal life.
Transgender – Kye Allums
Kye Allums is a former college basketball player for the George Washington Colonials women’s basketball team at George Washington University. In 2010 Allums, a trans man, became the first openly transgender NCAA Division I college athlete.
Allums came out in 2010 while he was playing for the George Washington University’s women’s basketball team. He told sports website outsports.com; “My biological sex is female, which makes me a transgender male.”
Later, in 2014 Kye revealed to HuffPost that after experiencing problematic reporting from ESPN about his identity, he had wanted to commit suicide. He has since become a transgender advocate and public speaker.
+ Intersex – Maria José Martínez-Patiño
Maria Patiño represented Spain in the hurdles in the 1980s. Officials had already given her a “certificate of femininity” at the World Track and Field Championships in 1983, but she forgot to take it with her to the World University Games in Japan in 1985.
After submitting to a swab test, Patiño was advised to claim an injury and drop out of the competition because her test results were ambiguous and needed clarification. She complied and received a letter two months later with the results. This letter informed her that she was officially classified as “male.” Until that moment, Patiño had no idea that she had a Y chromosome which makes her intersex.
She was diagnosed with Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome (AIS) and disqualified from competing. She challenged the decision and found experts who managed to convince sports federations that her AIS gave her no advantage over other competitors. The IAAF’s decision was reversed – but not in time for Patiño to compete in the 1968 Olympics.