Sports
Meet Brazil’s first trans pro volleyball player
Tifanny Abreu reminds fans to ‘never give up on yourself’
Tifanny Abreu, the first transgender athlete to play professional volleyball in Brazilian League. (Photo courtesy Abreu)
Being a professional transgender athlete in the country that kills the most transgender people in the world does not escape Tifanny Abreu’s attention.
“We need more love and less hatred, more education and less discrimination, respect for all and all for respect,” she told the Blade. “That is the only way to build a better country for all.”
When we talk about Tifanny Abreu it is impossible not to mention how many barriers she had to cross to become the first transgender woman to play an official match in the Professional Brazilian Volleyball League. But when we approached her for an interview she was more than cautious about talking about her past — an understandable hesitation coming from someone who carries the heavy load of breaking paradigms and fighting for her earned right to play professionally the game she loves in spite of the negative attention she got for her first professional participation in the Brazilian League during the 2017/18 season.
Much has been said about the advantage she might have by having developed as a man and only transitioning in her late 20s – her body’s development was entirely completed as a man given her an increase in bone development as some detractors argued. But that argument points to the prejudice still rampant in the country and reveals how far Brazil is from equality and full inclusion.
José Roberto Guimarães, the Brazilian national women’s volleyball head coach, already stated that the fact of the matter is that she is playing inside the rules established by the International Olympic Committee, which regulates transgender participation in sports by the testosterone levels in the athlete’s blood – to be eligible the athlete must have less than 10 nmol/L of testosterone before the debut in women’s competitions. Abreu’s tests showed she had a testosterone level of 0.2 nmol/L.
Her story with professional women’s volleyball started in Italy in early 2017 playing the country’s second division for Golem Palmi. As the season ended, she went to Brazil to visit friends and family and treat a hand injury. And that is how her story with Volêi Bauru team began. She was invited by Bauru Vôlei to treat her injury in their facilities and using their professionals. Soon enough came the invite to stay and play for them – and she decided not to go back to Europe and play in their team to stay in her country close to friends and relatives.
Problems started to surface when she recovered from her injury and started constantly being the highlight of Bauru Vôlei’s campaign, scoring a high level of points, as high as Tandara Caixeta, the Brazilian national’s team opposite spiker.
Currently in training to start playing the 2018/19 pre-season, Abreu wanted to leave behind past issues and talk to us about the future. She is signed for the season with Vôlei Bauru for another year and decided to do that because her reception in the city, by the local fans and by the staff and fellow players was the best she could ever hope for. And she can expect an even better season since the team has reached to sign other featured players known for playing at a high level. An example of that is Valentina Diouf, the internationally known Italian opposite spiker. But Abreu dismisses any sign of rivalry. “There is no dispute. A team is a family. We win, fight and lose together. The head coach will make a decision on which of us will make first string. The really important thing will be the results we can reach as a team.”
Abreu has already completed a season as “the first transgender athlete” and as she probably will progress and grow in her game, she just wants to play the game she loves as “another one of the girls” away from the persecution she had to endure at her prior season of the Brazilian League.
“I am just an athlete with dreams and challenges,” she said. “And like every other athlete I’ll keep fighting to win the challenges I face and reach as high as possible.” By the end of the interview, Abreu was asked about transgender youth and the challenges they face, and that is when she reaffirmed the most important part of her strength and beliefs in a message for anyone who might be struggling with identity. “Follow your dreams. Fight for who you are and never give up on yourself,” she said.
Tifanny Abreu (Photo courtesy of Abreu)
More than a dozen LGBTQ athletes won medals at the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics that ended on Sunday.
Cayla Barnes, Hilary Knight, and Alex Carpenter are LGBTQ members of the U.S. women’s hockey team that won a gold medal after they defeated Canada in overtime. Knight the day before the Feb. 19 match proposed to her girlfriend, Brittany Bowe, an Olympic speed skater.
French ice dancer Guillaume Cizeron, who is gay, and his partner Laurence Fournier Beaudry won gold. American alpine skier Breezy Johnson, who is bisexual, won gold in the women’s downhill. Amber Glenn, who identifies as bisexual and pansexual, was part of the American figure skating team that won gold in the team event.
Swiss freestyle skier Mathilde Gremaud, who is in a relationship with Vali Höll, an Austrian mountain biker, won gold in women’s freeski slopestyle.
Bruce Mouat, who is the captain of the British curling team that won a silver medal, is gay. Six members of the Canadian women’s hockey team — Emily Clark, Erin Ambrose, Emerance Maschmeyer, Brianne Jenner, Laura Stacey, and Marie-Philip Poulin — that won silver are LGBTQ.
Swedish freestyle skier Sandra Naeslund, who is a lesbian, won a bronze medal in ski cross.
Belgian speed skater Tineke den Dulk, who is bisexual, was part of her country’s mixed 2000-meter relay that won bronze. Canadian ice dancer Paul Poirier, who is gay, and his partner, Piper Gilles, won bronze.
Laura Zimmermann, who is queer, is a member of the Swiss women’s hockey team that won bronze when they defeated Sweden.
Outsports.com notes all of the LGBTQ Olympians who competed at the games and who medaled.
Sports
US wins Olympic gold medal in women’s hockey
Team captain Hilary Knight proposed to girlfriend on Wednesday
The U.S. women’s hockey team on Thursday won a gold medal at the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics.
Team USA defeated Canada 2-1 in overtime. The game took place a day after Team USA captain Hilary Knight proposed to her girlfriend, Brittany Bowe, an Olympic speed skater.
Cayla Barnes and Alex Carpenter — Knight’s teammates — are also LGBTQ. They are among the more than 40 openly LGBTQ athletes who are competing in the games.
The Olympics will end on Sunday.
Sports
Attitude! French ice dancers nail ‘Vogue’ routine
Cizeron and Fournier Beaudry strike a pose in memorable Olympics performance
Madonna’s presence is being felt at the Olympic Games in Italy.
Guillaume Cizeron and his rhythm ice dancing partner Laurence Fournier Beaudry of France performed a flawless skate to Madonna’s “Vogue” and “Rescue Me” on Monday.
The duo scored an impressive 90.18 for their effort, the best score of the night.
“We’ve been working hard the whole season to get over 90, so it was nice to see the score on the screen,” Fournier Beaudry told Olympics.com. “But first of all, just coming out off the ice, we were very happy about what we delivered and the pleasure we had out there. With the energy of the crowd, it was really amazing.”
Watch the routine on YouTube here.
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