The rise of social media, especially Instagram, has given athletes a forum where they can live their lives openly and identify directly with their followers.
The massive increase in the number of out athletes reflects the growing acceptance of LGBTQ people in sports and society. The number of publicly out LGBTQ athletes in Tokyo is also greater than the number athletes who have participated in all of the previous Olympic Games - Summer and Winter - combined while publicly out. That number of athletes who were out at the Tokyo Olympics has continued to grow.Īt least 186 publicly out gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, queer and nonbinary athletes were in Tokyo for the Summer Olympic Games, more than triple the number who participated at the 2016 Rio Games. Editor’s Note: As of mid-August 2021, the total number of known LGBTQ athletes was 185.
