List of LGBTQ Paralympians
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
There have been 81[a] modern Paralympians, at both the Summer and Winter Paralympic Games, who have identified as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, pansexual, non-binary, queer, or who have openly been in a same-sex relationship. The first Paralympic Games in which an athlete now known to be LGBT+ competed was the 1984 Winter Paralympics.[a]
Despite growing numbers of out LGBTQ Paralympians with each Summer Games in the 21st century, the media coverage of these athletes was significantly lower than the vastly growing coverage of LGBTQ Olympians, if present at all. Fusion suggested that besides low coverage causing a self-justifying lack of interest, there may be a failure to report on the intersection of Paralympians who are queer due to wider media treatment of Paralympians as disabled tropes and societal perceptions of disabled people as desexualised.[1]
Like with LGBTQ+ Olympic athletes, there have been more openly queer Summer than Winter Paralympians. Unlike with Olympians, however, the number of out LGBTQ+ Winter Paralympians was, through 2022, largely stagnant rather than gradually increasing. Fusion suggested this may be related to the Winter Games being held in homophobic nations and greater fear among double marginalised LGBTQ+ Paralympians to be publicly out,[1] with discrimination cited as a reason there are fewer out Paralympians than Olympians across both seasons despite significant prevalence of disability in the queer community.[2] In 2026, with six out Winter Paralympians, magazine Out referred to the significant increase as making the Games "more queer than [they] had hoped".[3]
The most decorated LGBT+ Para- and/or Olympian overall is British Paralympic equestrian Lee Pearson, with 17 medals including 14 golds.[a][b] At least 48 LGBT+ Paralympians are medalists (59.26% of LGBT+ Paralympians), of which 27 have at least one gold medal (33.33%).[a]
Overview
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| Sport | Number of Paralympians by gender[N 3] | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Female | Male | Non-binary | Total | |||
| Cisgender | Transgender | Cisgender | Transgender | |||
_pictogram.svg){kind=small} Alpine skiing |
2 | — | 1 | — | — | 3 |
.svg){kind=small} Athletics |
9 | 1[N 4] | 1 | 1[N 4] | 2[N 4] | 14 |
 Cross-country skiing |
3 | — | 1 | — | — | 4 |
_pictogram_(Paralympics).svg){kind=small} Cycling |
9 | — | — | — | — | 9 |
.svg){kind=small} Equestrian |
— | — | 1 | — | — | 1 |
.svg){kind=small} Goalball |
2 | — | — | — | — | 2 |
.svg){kind=small} Judo |
1 | — | — | — | — | 1 |
.svg){kind=small} Parabiathlon |
1 | — | 1 | — | — | 2 |
.svg){kind=small} Paracanoe |
1 | — | — | — | — | 1 |
_pictogram.svg){kind=small} Para snowboard |
1 | — | — | — | — | 1 |
.svg){kind=small} Parataekwondo |
1 | — | — | — | — | 1 |
.svg){kind=small} Paratriathlon |
3 | — | 1 | — | — | 4 |
 Powerlifting |
— | — | 1 | — | — | 1 |
.svg){kind=small} Rowing |
6 | — | — | — | 1[N 4] | 7 |
.svg){kind=small} Shooting |
1 | — | — | — | — | 1 |
.svg){kind=small} Sitting volleyball |
3 | — | — | — | — | 3 |
 Swimming |
5 | — | 3 | — | 1[N 4] | 9 |
.svg){kind=small} Wheelchair basketball |
15 | — | — | — | — | 15 |
.svg){kind=small} Wheelchair curling |
1 | — | — | — | — | 1 |
.svg){kind=small} Wheelchair fencing |
2 | — | — | — | — | 2 |
.svg){kind=small} Wheelchair tennis |
4 | — | 2 | — | — | 6 |
- Notes
- Including multi-year appearances of the same Paralympian.
- Took place in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Including multi-disciplinary Paralympians
- Competed in a women's category
Paralympic athletes and coaches
- Tables are default sorted by first Games appearance chronologically, then current surname or common nickname alphabetically, then first name alphabetically. They can be sorted by current surname (where used) or common nickname alphabetically; by country and sport alphabetically; by Games chronologically;[c] and by medals as organised in Paralympics medals tables.[d]
| Athlete | Country | Sport | Games | Medal(s) | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Laura Oftedahl |  United States |
Cross-country skiing | 1984 |  |
Oftedahl was part of the American team that finished behind Austria in the cross-country women's 4x5 km relay for visually impaired skiers.[4][5] | |
_(cropped_-_Armbruster).jpg) |
Jen Armbruster | United States |
Goalball | 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016 |   |
Armbruster is married to Asya Miller, and was widely out before 2012.[6][7][8] |
.jpg) |
Asya Miller | United States |
Goalball | 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016, 2020 | |
Married Jen Armbruster prior to 2012.[8][9] |
 |
Lee Pearson |  Great Britain |
Equestrian | 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016, 2020 | |
Was widely out prior to 2012; was a Paralympic flagbearer in 2016.[10][11][12] |
 |
Allison Jones | United States |
Alpine skiing, Cycling | 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016 | |
Jones was a flagbearer at the Rio 2016 Paralympics[13] in her last of eight Olympic appearances, having competed every two years alternating skiing and cycling since 2002.[14] She married a woman in 2014.[15] |
| Edênia Garcia |  Brazil |
Swimming | 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016, 2020, 2024 | |
Came out widely in 2019.[16][17] | |
| Theresa Goh |  Singapore |
Swimming | 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016 | |
Goh came out widely in 2017,[18] though said she had never hidden her sexuality, and later reflected that the response in Singapore, where she had feared she could be jailed, had been quite positive.[19] | |
| David Hill | Great Britain |
Swimming, Paratriathlon | 2004, 2016 | [20] | ||
 |
Ben Weekes |  Australia |
Wheelchair tennis | 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016, 2020, 2024 | [21] | |
 |
Stephanie Wheeler | United States |
Wheelchair basketball | 2004, 2008, 2016 | |
Won gold as a player in 2004 and 2008 (after which she came out), and as coach in 2016.[22][23] |
 |
Ellie Cole | Australia |
Swimming | 2008, 2012, 2016, 2020 | |
In a relationship with partner Silvia Scognamiglio, whom she met at the London 2012 Paralympics.[24][25] |
 |
Andrea Eskau |  Germany |
Cycling, Parabiathlon, Sitting cross-country skiing | 2008, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2018, 2020, 2024, 2026 | |
Eskau's partner is Amira Antar. Germany's most successful athlete,[26] as of 2026, Eskau has only missed one Paralympic event since her debut 18 years earlier.[27] As of 2024, she has achieved 8 gold, 5 silver and 2 bronze Paralympic medals.[28] |
| Josiane Lima | Brazil |
Rowing | 2008, 2012, 2016, 2020 | |
Including the 2020 Games, Lima has competed at every Paralympics in which rowing has featured.[29][30] She was widely out prior to the 2020 Games,[31] and an advocate for combating queerphobia in Brazil.[32] | |
 |
Angela Madsen | United States |
Rowing, Athletics | 2008, 2012, 2016 | |
Madsen competed in Paralympic rowing in 2008,[33] and then in Paralympic throwing events in 2012 and 2016,[34] winning her bronze medal in the shot put. She came out in 1981 while in the military, a year after the military-induced injury which paralysed her.[35] She died while rowing from Los Angeles to Hawaii in 2020.[36] |
 |
Kgothatso Montjane |  South Africa |
Wheelchair tennis | 2008, 2012, 2016, 2020, 2024 | According to reports on her accepting an award for inspiring the South Africa LGBTQ community, Montjane identifies as queer.[37] | |
 |
Cindy Ouellet |  Canada |
Wheelchair basketball, Sitting cross-country skiing | 2008, 2012, 2016, 2018, 2020, 2024 | Ouellet competes in wheelchair basketball at the Summer Paralympics since 2008, and competed in different cross-country skiing events at the 2018 Winter Paralympics.[38] She was widely out prior to 2018.[39] | |
| Monique Burkland | United States |
Sitting volleyball | 2012, 2016, 2020, 2024 | |
Widely out prior to competing,[40] Burkland married her trans male partner, before he came out, in 2016. After he came out, Burkland said that her teammates were all supportive of them.[41] | |
_(cropped_-_Dunlevy).jpg) |
Katie-George Dunlevy |  Ireland |
Cycling | 2012, 2016, 2020, 2024 | |
Widely out by the 2020 Games,[31] Dunlevy had come out at the age of 29 after being in denial "for years". She noted that, while cycling is not as largely queer as football or rugby when it comes to women, her own para cycling team was majority queer women. After the 2020 Games, she also told ESPN that people only approached her as an LGBT+ sportswoman in the run-up to those Games.[42] |
 |
Jude Hamer | Great Britain |
Wheelchair basketball | 2012, 2016, 2020 | Widely out prior to 2020 Games, at which point she was in a relationship with pararower Lauren Rowles.[43] | |
.jpg) |
Claire Harvey | Great Britain |
Sitting volleyball, Athletics | 2012, 2016 | Harvey competed in sitting volleyball at the 2012 Paralympics. She was set to compete in the discus throw at the 2016 Paralympics but could not due to injury.[44][45] She was widely out prior to competing,[10][46] saying at the 2012 Games: "I've never been in the closet. I need everything that I am to take me on that court as best I can and that's part of me... I'd like to think I'm an athlete first, and if being gay is part of that, and gives young people some inspiration then all well and good."[47] | |
| Crystal Lane-Wright | Great Britain |
Cycling | 2012, 2016, 2020 | |
Widely out prior to the 2020 Games.[48] | |
| Francisca Mardones |  Chile |
Wheelchair tennis, Athletics | 2012, 2016, 2020, 2024 | |
[49] | |
 |
Desiree Miller | United States |
Wheelchair basketball | 2012, 2016 | |
Was married to German wheelchair basketball player Mareike Miller. Widely out prior to 2016.[50] |
 |
Mareike Miller | Germany |
Wheelchair basketball | 2012, 2016, 2020, 2024 | |
While Miller competes at the Paralympics, she does not have a permanent disability; she took up wheelchair basketball after persistent injury curtailed her basketball career.[51] She was a flagbearer at the 2020 Games.[52] Was married to American wheelchair basketball player Desiree Miller.[50] |
 |
Moran Samuel |  Israel |
Rowing | 2012, 2016, 2020, 2024 | |
After Samuel suffered a spinal stroke during her basketball career, Samuel's wife suggested she try rowing. Samuel was a flagbearer at the 2020 Paralympics.[53] |
_(21012714043).jpg) |
Lucy Shuker | Great Britain |
Wheelchair tennis | 2012, 2016, 2020, 2024 | |
Widely out prior to the 2020 Games.[31][54] |
 |
Marieke Vervoort |  Belgium |
Wheelchair racing | 2012, 2016 | |
Vervoort was an openly lesbian[40][46] Paralympic wheelchair racer who gained wide attention when, shortly before the 2016 Rio Games, she announced she planned to die by euthanasia and that going to Rio was her last wish.[55] She clarified this did not mean straight away;[56] she died in 2019.[57] |
| Emma Wiggs | Great Britain |
Sitting volleyball, Paracanoe | 2012, 2016, 2020, 2024 | |
Widely out prior to the 2020 Games.[31] Wiggs competed in sitting volleyball in 2012, having been offered several sports at a paralympic talent identifying day but wanting to be involved in a team.[58] After 2012, she switched to paracanoeing.[59][60] | |
 |
Laurie Williams | Great Britain |
Wheelchair basketball | 2012, 2016, 2020, 2024 | Widely out prior to the 2020 Games. In a relationship with teammate Robyn Love.[31][11] | |
| Jake Adicoff | United States |
Cross-country skiing; biathlon | 2014, 2018, 2022, 2026 | |
[3][61] | |
| Jo Butterfield | Great Britain |
Athletics, Wheelchair curling | 2016, 2020, 2026 | |
[62] | |
 |
Yuliya Chernoy | Israel |
Rowing, Shooting | 2016, 2020 | Married to her partner.[63] | |
| Hailey Danz | United States |
Paratriathlon | 2016, 2020, 2024 | |
Widely out by the 2020 Games.[31][11] | |
_04a_(cropped).jpg) |
Diede de Groot |  Netherlands |
Wheelchair tennis | 2016, 2020, 2024 | |
[49] |
.jpg) |
Abby Dunkin | United States |
Wheelchair basketball | 2016 | |
Widely out prior to competing.[64] |
| Megan Giglia | Great Britain |
Cycling | 2016 | |
Widely out prior to competing.[65] | |
| Laura Goodkind | United States |
Rowing | 2016, 2020 | Goodkind identifies as gender neutral. They compete in mixed doubles as the female partner, and was widely out prior to the 2020 Games.[66][67] | ||
.jpg) |
Barbara Gross | Germany |
Wheelchair basketball | 2016, 2020 | |
Also known as Babsi Gross or Groß. She won a silver medal with her team in 2016 before the governing bodies of wheelchair basketball, including the International Paralympic Committee, altered their eligibility criteria in 2020.[68] After appealing the decision, Gross was allowed to continue competing.[69] Widely out prior to the 2020 Games.[31] |
| Bo Kramer | Netherlands |
Wheelchair basketball | 2016, 2020, 2024 | |
Widely out prior to the 2020 Games.[31][70][71] | |
 |
Robyn Love | Great Britain |
Wheelchair basketball | 2016, 2020, 2024 | Widely out prior to the 2020 Games. In a relationship with teammate Laurie Williams.[31][11] | |
 |
Alana Maldonado | Brazil |
Judo | 2016, 2020, 2024 | |
Widely out prior to the 2020 Games.[31] After winning gold in Tokyo, having taken silver at home in Rio, she told the media that she would not take off her gold medal until she got home and saw her girlfriend.[72] |
| Ness Murby | Canada |
Athletics | 2016 | The BBC noted that as a trans male athlete, their presence "created less of a stir" than trans female athletes.[73] | ||
| Lauren Rowles | Great Britain |
Rowing | 2016, 2020, 2024 | |
Widely out prior to the 2020 Games, at which point she was in a relationship with wheelchair basketball player Judith Hamer.[43][74][75] | |
| Josie Aslakson | United States |
Wheelchair basketball | 2020, 2024 | |
Came out widely with her involvement in Ballin' Out ahead of the 2024 Games.[76] | |
 |
Nikki Ayers | Australia |
Rowing | 2020, 2024 | |
[49] |
| Tuany Barbosa Siqueira | Brazil |
Athletics | 2020 | A judoka before her impairment, Barbosa began training in para athletics throwing events at the encouragement of a former teammate.[77][31] | ||
 |
Kaitlyn Eaton | United States |
Wheelchair basketball | 2020, 2024 | |
Widely out prior to competing.[31] |
 |
Jardênia Félix | Brazil |
Athletics | 2020, 2024 | |
[49] |
| Már Gunnarsson |  Iceland |
Swimming | 2020, 2024 | [78] | ||
| Terry Hayes | United States |
Wheelchair fencing | 2020 | Widely out prior to competing.[79] | ||
| Querijn Hensen | Netherlands |
Swimming | 2020 | [31] | ||
 |
Robyn Lambird | Australia |
Athletics | 2020 | |
Lambird became the first non-binary Paralympic medallist. They said that, growing up playing sports around men, they never felt they had to hide their gender identity and never felt unwelcome within those circles, but has spoken of how the disabled queer community is marginalised. They use social media as an advocacy platform for their community.[80][11] |
| Louis Lawlor | Great Britain |
Swimming | 2020, 2024 | [49] | ||
 |
Tara Llanes | Canada |
Wheelchair basketball | 2020, 2024 | Widely out prior to competing.[31] | |
 |
Débora Menezes | Brazil |
Parataekwondo | 2020, 2024 | |
Widely out prior to competing.[31] |
| Kate O'Brien | Canada |
Cycling | 2020, 2024 | |
O'Brien took up bobsleigh in university, and got as far as qualifying for the 2014 Winter Olympics before an injury took her out of competition. In her time out, she was recruited to join the Canadian track cycling team as they prepared for the 2016 Summer Olympics, at which she competed. At a track cycling demonstration in 2017, O'Brien was involved in a major crash and suffered traumatic injury; Team Canada incorporated her into their Paralympic track cycling team for the 2020 Games.[81][82] Widely out prior to the 2020 Games.[31] | |
| Brenda Osnaya |  Mexico |
Paratriathlon | 2020, 2024 | Widely out prior to competing.[31] Osnaya has also competed in weightlifting, swimming and athletics as a para-athlete, and roller skating as an able-bodied athlete.[83] | ||
| Marie Patouillet |  France |
Cycling | 2020, 2024 | |
[84] | |
| Dimitri Pavadé | France |
Athletics | 2020, 2024 | |
Came out at the 2024 Games, after competing.[85] | |
.jpg) |
Patrícia Pereira | Brazil |
Swimming | 2020, 2024 | |
[49] |
| Mariana Ribeiro | Brazil |
Swimming | 2020, 2024 | |
Widely out prior to competing.[31][86] | |
| Jaleen Roberts | United States |
Athletics | 2020, 2024 | |
[49] | |
| Lucy Robinson | Great Britain |
Wheelchair basketball | 2020, 2024 | Widely out prior to competing.[11][31] | ||
 |
Courtney Ryan | United States |
Wheelchair basketball | 2020, 2024 | |
Widely out prior to competing.[31][87] |
| Monica Sereda | United States |
Cycling | 2020 | Widely out prior to competing.[88] | ||
| Hallie Smith | United States |
Rowing | 2020 | Widely out prior to competing.[31] | ||
 |
Maz Strong | Australia |
Athletics | 2020, 2024 | |
Strong was one of two out Australian non-binary para athletes at the 2020 Games.[80][11] |
| Richael Timothy | Ireland |
Cycling | 2020, 2024 | [89] | ||
| Kevin van Ham | Belgium |
Equestrian | 2020, 2024 | [49] | ||
| Alexandra Viney | Australia |
Rowing | 2020, 2024 | [49] | ||
| Mateus de Assis Silva | Brazil |
Powerlifting | 2024 | [49] | ||
| Pauline Déroulède | France |
Wheelchair tennis | 2024 | [49] | ||
| Anu Francis | Australia |
Paratriathlon | 2024 | [90] | ||
| Trinity Lowthian | Canada |
Wheelchair fencing | 2024 | [91] | ||
| Suzana Nahirnei | Brazil |
Athletics | 2024 | [49] | ||
| Valentina Petrillo |  Italy |
Athletics | 2024 | Reported as the first openly transgender Paralympic athlete.[92] | ||
| Christie Raleigh Crossley | United States |
Swimming | 2024 | |
Raleigh Crossley is non-binary.[93] | |
| Greg Slade | Great Britain |
Wheelchair tennis | 2024 | |
[94] | |
| Hailey Griffin | United States |
Alpine skiing | 2026 | [3] | ||
| Jackie Hamwey | United States |
Snowboard | 2026 | [3] | ||
| Michael O'Hearn | United States |
Alpine skiing | 2026 | [3] | ||
See also
Notes
- Based on the information collected on this page
- Australian Paralympic swimmer Ellie Cole also has 17 medals, six of which are golds.
- Where athletes have represented multiple countries, competed in multiple sports, and/or at multiple Games, the country/sport/Games they are sorted by is their first country/sport/Games chronologically.
- Based on most golds over total medals, then alphabetically by current surname or common nickname. In cases of medals for demonstration events and honourable mentions in artistic events, these are sorted between one bronze and no medals.