Sports
Olympic gold for gay ice dancer Guillaume Cizeron
So far, 2 gold medals have been awarded to out LGBTQ athletes competing in Beijing while trailblazing gay American athlete shows Pride
Another out gay athlete is taking home the gold at the Winter Olympic Games in Beijing. Ice dancer Guillaume Cizeron of France, a four-time World Champion and five-time European Champion, won the Ice Dancing competition Monday with his longtime partner, Gabriella Papadakis.
Cizeron is 27, Papadakis 26. Their almost perfect performance scored the pair an overall record 226.98 points in their world-leading win. This is a huge comeback after the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, when Papadakis suffered a loss of concentration during a wardrobe malfunction. Their combined struggle to avoid embarrassment on the ice cost them the gold.
This time, their gold, red and black outfits behaved, and their nearly flawless routine won over the judges.
As the Los Angeles Blade reported on Feb. 8, out bisexual speedskater Irene Wüst of the Netherlands was the first out medalist in Beijing to win a medal, and it was gold. Wüst, 35, made history as the first Olympian to win an individual gold medal in 5 Winter Games. So far, according to Outsports, no other out athletes have won medals in Beijing.
But an out gay pioneer in the sport of skeleton did the next best thing: He showed Pride despite the International Olympic Committee’s ban on protests and demonstrations at the Winter Games.
Andrew Blaser, 32, was the only American male skeleton racer competing in Beijing — the first time the U.S. had sent only one. The Idaho native is also the first publicly out gay man to ever compete in the sport at the Olympics. On Feb. 10, he raced with a rainbow saddle on his sled, which Outsports reported was a surprise gift from TeamUSA bobsledder Sara Roderick.
You can see the saddle on YouTube:
“It’s kinda fun!” he told USA Network. “Makes me smile.”
Blaser finished 21st out of 25 racers after his two heats last week. Unfortunately, neither he nor teammates Katie Uhlaender, 37 of Colorado, or Airman Kelly Curtis took home a medal. Curtis, 33 of New Jersey, is the first Black American to compete in skeleton. The last time TeamUSA won a medal in this event was in 2014.
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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