Fridae

In Beijing 2008, just 12 openly LGBT athletes competed and only 23 openly LGBT athletes who part in the London 2012 games. This year an estimated 42 LGBT athletes from 13 different countries and 6 continents are competing in the games, including Dutee Chand from India. Let’s meet them.

Nicola Adams (Great Britain, boxing)

Nicola Adams, MBE is an English and British boxer and the first woman to win an Olympic boxing title.

Seimone Augustus (USA, basketball)

Seimone Delicia Augustus is an American professional women's basketball player with the Minnesota Lynx of the Women's National Basketball Association, Dynamo Kursk and the U.S. national team.

Tom Bosworth (Great Britain, race walk)

Thomas Stewart "Tom" Bosworth is a British race walker who holds three British Records. He is currently ranked 1st overall in the UK for 20 km.

Dutee Chand (India, track & field)

Dutee Chand is an Indian professional sprinter and current national champion in the women's 100 metres event.

Tom Daley (Great Britain, diving)

Thomas Robert "Tom" Daley is a British diver and television personality. Daley specialises in the 10-metre platform event and was the 2009 FINA World Champion in the individual event at the age of 15.

Carlien Dirkse van den Heuvel (Netherlands, field hockey)

Carlien Dirkse van den Heuvel is a Dutch field hockey player. At the 2012 Summer Olympics, she competed for the Netherlands women's national field hockey team in the women's event. Fox News notes her as one of ten LGBT Olympians to medal in London 2016.

Lisa Dahlkvist (Sweden, soccer)

Lisa Karolina Viktoria Dahlkvist is a Swedish professional football midfielder who plays for French club Paris Saint-Germain and the Sweden national team.

Katie Duncan (New Zealand, soccer)

Katie Duncan is an Association footballer who plays for FC Zürich and the New Zealand at international level.

Nilla Fisher (Sweden, soccer)

Åsa Nilla Maria Fischer is a Swedish footballer for VfL Wolfsburg and the Swedish national team. She was previously the captain of LdB FC Malmö.

Larissa França (Brazil, beach volleyball)

Larissa França is a female beach volleyball player from Brazil. She is the all-time leader of beach volleyball titles, with 57 FIVB career gold medals, including the 2011 Beach Volleyball World Championships with Juliana Felisberta and the 2015 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour with Talita Antunes.

Kelly Griffin (USA, rugby)

Kelly Griffin is an American rugby sevens player and Olympian. As a member of the United States women's national rugby sevens team, she won a bronze medal at the 2013 Rugby Sevens World Cup, and a silver medal at the 2015 Pan American Games.

Edward Gal (Netherlands, equestrian)

Edward Gal is a Dutch dressage rider. He and the stallion Totilas, were triple gold medalists at the 2010 FEI World Equestrian Games, becoming the first horse-rider partnership ever to sweep the three available dressage gold medals at a single FEI World Games

Brittney Griner (USA, basketball)

Brittney Yevette Griner is an American professional basketball center for the Phoenix Mercury of the Women's National Basketball Association. She played college basketball at Baylor University in Waco, Texas.

Carl Hester (Great Britain, equestrian)

Carl Hester MBE is a British dressage rider competing at Olympic level. As of 8 August 2012 the Fédération Equestre Internationale rank him 12th in the world riding Uthopia.

Michelle Heyman (Australia, soccer)

Michelle Pearl Heyman is an Australian football player who currently plays for Canberra United in the W-League in Australia.

Mélanie Henique (France, swimming)

Mélanie Henique is a French swimmer who won a bronze medal in 50 m butterfly at the 2011 World Championships in Shanghai.

Stephanie Labbe (Canada, soccer)

Stephanie Lynn Marie Labbé is a Canadian soccer goalkeeper who plays internationally for the Canada women's national soccer team, and with the Washington Spirit of the National Women's Soccer League.

Alexandra Lacrabère (France, handball)

Alexandra Lacrabère is a French handball player, who has played for the French national team. She participated at the 2008 Summer Olympics in China, where the French team placed fifth.

Hedvig Lindahl (Sweden, soccer)

Rut Hedvig Lindahl is a Swedish professional football goalkeeper who plays for Chelsea Ladies. She previously played club football in Sweden for Damallsvenskan clubs including Malmö FF, Linköpings FC, Kristianstads DFF and Kopparbergs/Göteborg FC.

Ari-Pekka Liukkonen (Finland, swimming)

Ari-Pekka Liukkonen is a Finnish swimmer. He competed in the 50 m freestyle event at the 2012 Summer Olympics. He is the Finnish record holder over that distance with a time of 21.93 sec

Robbie Manson (New Zealand, rowing)

Robert 'Robbie' Manson is a New Zealand rower. He won a bronze medal at the 2015 World Rowing Championships.

Hans Peter Minderhoud (Netherlands, equestrian)

Hans Peter Minderhoud is a Dutch dressage rider. Minderhoud won the VSN Cup in 2004 with his horse Gameboy and also succeeded in the Pavo Cup with Sandreo and Florencio.

Angel McCoughtry (USA, basketball)

Angel Lajuane McCoughtry is an American professional basketball player for the Atlanta Dream of the Women's National Basketball Association. She completed her college career at the University of Louisville in 2009.

Ian Matos (Brazil, diving)

Ian Matos is a male diver from Brazil. He competed at the 2015 World Aquatics Championships.

Nadine Müller (Germany, discus)

Nadine Müller is a German discus thrower. She was born in Leipzig. As a teenager she won the silver medal at the 2003 European Junior Championships and the bronze medal at the 2004 World Junior Championships.

Marie-Eve Nault (Canada, soccer)

Marie-Ève Nault, is a Canadian soccer defender who plays for Swedish club KIF Örebro in the Damallsvenskan. She is also a former player of the Ottawa Fury Women.

Ashley Nee (USA, kayak whitewater slalom)

Ashley Nee is an American slalom canoeist who has competed in the last three world championships
 
Maartje Paumen (Netherlands, field hockey)

Maartje Paumen is a Dutch field hockey player, who plays as midfielder for Dutch club HC Den Bosch. She also plays for the Netherlands national team and she was part of the Dutch squad that became World Champion at the 2006 Women's Hockey World Cup and which won the 2007 Champions Trophy and the 2011 Champions Trophy.

Mayssa Pessoa (Brazil, handball)

Mayssa Raquel de Oliveira Pessoa, also known as Mayssa Pessoa or simply Mayssa is a Brazilian female handball goalkeeper who plays for ŽRK Vardar and the Brazilian national team. She was one of nearly two dozen LGBT Olympians at the London Games.

Jillion Potter (USA, rugby)

Jillion Potter (born July 5, 1986) is an American rugby union player. She is the captain of the 2016 USA Olympic women's rugby sevens team.

Megan Rapinoe (USA, soccer)

Megan Anna Rapinoe; born July 5, 1985, is an American professional soccer midfielder/winger who plays for Seattle Reign FC in the National Women's Soccer League

Helen Richardson-Walsh (Great Britain, field hockey)

Helen Richardson-Walsh is an English field hockey player. She was a member of both the England and Great Britain women's field hockey teams during the late 1990s and 2000s.

Kate Richardson-Walsh (Great Britain, field hockey)

Kathrin Louise Richardson-Walsh MBE is an English field hockey player. She is currently the captain for Great Britain and England.

Caroline Seger (Sweden, soccer)

Sara Caroline Seger is a Swedish footballer who plays as a midfielder for the Sweden women's national football team and Paris Saint-Germain of the French Division 1 Féminine. She serves as captain for her club and national team

Caster Semenya (South Africa, track & field)

Mokgadi Caster Semenya Bronze OIB is a South African middle-distance runner and world champion. Semenya won gold in the women's 800 metres at the 2009 World Championships with a time of 1:55.45 in the final.

Martina Strut (Germany, pole vault)

Martina Strut finished fifth in women pole Vault at the 2012 Summer Olympic Games in London.[1] She finished fifth at the 2000 World Junior Championships in Santiago, fifth at the 2006 European Athletics Championships in Gothenburg and fourth at the 2006 IAAF World Cup in Athens. Her personal best is 4.80 metres, achieved in August 2011 in Daegu

Melissa Tancredi (Canada, soccer)

Melissa Palma Julie Tancredi is a Canadian soccer forward who plays for the Canada women's national soccer team

Susannah Townsend (Great Britain, field hockey)

Susannah Townsend is a British field hockey player. She competed for England in the women's hockey tournament at the 2014 Commonwealth Games where she won a silver medal

Sunette Stella Viljoen (South Africa, javelin)
Sunette Stella Viljoen is a South African javelin thrower, who has won gold at the Commonwealth Games and African Championships.

Julia Vasconcelos (Brazil, taekowndo)

Julia is a taekwondo competitor from Brazil. She participated in the 2013 and 2015 world championships and qualified for the 2016 Summer Olympics in the 57 kg division.

Jeffrey Wammes (Netherlands, gymnastics)

Jeffrey Wammes is a Dutch gymnast. He has been a competitive force since 2005. His best events are floor exercise and vault. Wammes trains, along with Yuri van Gelder, at the Flik-Flak club in 's-Hertogenbosch.

Spencer Wilton (Great Britain, equestrian)

Spencer Wilton won his first Dressage National title in 1999 and in 2006 he made his first international debut. To date Spencer has won 13 National titles.