Tokyo Olympics To Host Record Number Of LGBTQ Athletes

The Tokyo Olympics will host a record number of LGBTQ athletes, making this the most inclusive Games in history.

At least 157 publicly out gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, queer and nonbinary athletes are headed to Japan for the Summer Olympic Games, according to Outsports. This is more than the number of publicly out athletes at every single previous Olympic game combined.

This is also almost triple the number of LGBTQ athletes Outsports counted at the 2016 Rio Games, which was still at a significant at the times with 56.

Joanna Hoffman, the director of communications at Athlete Ally, told Time that this increase in the number of LGBTQ athletes might help to encourage teams and leagues to institutionalize inclusivity.

“Every out and proud athlete is a beacon for others who haven’t yet come out, or who are unsure if they can be their full self and play the sport they love,” Hoffman said.

The list compiled by Outsports includes athletes from over 25 countries who will compete in 26 different sports. Thirty of the athletes will represent the U.S., making it the country with the highest number of out LGBTQ participants.

None of the athletes in the news outlet’s list so far are from the host country of Japan.

Fumino Sugiyama, a transgender man and a former member of Japan women’s national fencing team, told Human Rights Watch that many Japanese LGBTQ athletes remain in the closet from fear and stigma.

“In Japan, we have only one known openly out active athlete,” Fumino said. “Even after retirement, there are only a few known out athletes due to the heavy social pressure. After I publicly came out, many athletes, including Olympic medalists, reached out to me and said, ‘I cannot come out before I retire.’”

A new study by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) ranked Japan second worst among all OECD member countries in basic legal protections for LGBTQ citizens.

Though Japan failed to adopt laws that would improve the lives of the LGBTQ community before the Tokyo Olympics, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government has adopted an ordinance that will “prohibit any form of discrimination” in line with the Olympic Charter.