Openly gay athletes at the 2018 Olympic Games are becoming fan favourites.
When South Korean organizers failed to raise enough money to build a Pride House at the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, the Canadian Olympic Committee .
The was created in 麻豆传媒映画for the 2010 Winter Olympics as a safe place for LGBTQ+ athletes, fans and their allies from across the globe to gather.
And from photos available online, it looks like Pride House in PyeongChang is a big hit. Team Canada鈥檚 Eric Radford posted a selfie of himself and fianc茅 Spanish ice dancer Luis Fenero on Twitter Feb. 10 with the caption, 鈥淲as so nice to spend some time with this man at #canadahouse and #PrideHouse. #Olympics #pyeongchang2018 #pride #love #贵颈补苍肠茅别.鈥澨�
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Was so nice to spend some time with this man at and .
鈥� Eric Radford (@Rad85E)
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Also frequenting Pride House is Adam Rippon, who became the first openly gay man from the U.S. to win a Winter Olympic medal when he was awarded the bronze in the men鈥檚 free skate Feb. 11.
English figure skater John Curry won the gold medal at the 1976 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck, Austria, but was outed by the media after having what he thought was an off-the-record conversation. Following that public outing, Curry faced more questions about his personal life than any of his athletic accomplishments. U.S. figure skater Brian Boitano won the gold in 1988, but didn鈥檛 publicly confirm he was gay for 25 years. Even the always over-the-top Jonny Weir didn鈥檛 officially come out until the year after he charmed the world at the 2010 Olympics.
But in 2018, there are 15 openly gay and lesbian athletes competing at the Winter Games 鈥� and they鈥檙e winning medals. Canadian figure skater Eric Radford became the first openly gay Winter Olympian to win a gold medal, while Dutch skater Ireen Wust won a gold in the 1,500 metres and a silver medal in the 3,000 metres, making her the most decorated Dutch Olympic athlete ever. Wust has eight medals and is openly bisexual.
It was freestyle skier Gus Kenworthy who broke the ice on opening day of the 2018 Olympic Games by posting a photo on Twitter stating, 鈥淲e鈥檙e here. We鈥檙e queer. Get used to it.鈥� But it was Rippon鈥檚 response to a question about what it鈥檚 like to be a gay athlete, that quickly made him an Olympic favourite.
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We're here. We're queer. Get used to it.
鈥� Gus Kenworthy (@guskenworthy)
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鈥淚t鈥檚 exactly like being a straight athlete. Lots of hard work, but usually done with better eyebrows.鈥澨� 听
