Some Olympic Facts and Figures

Since this article first appeared a lot of new information has been revealed and new research has been carried out. This article should be seen as a mere snapshot of the information known at the date of its publication. Several facts may now be outdated or inaccurate.

With the Paralympics coming to a close tonight I thought it was time to give you a few facts and figures about lgbt Olympians. These statistics refer to summer, winter and Paralympic games, including London 2012.

As I’ve found out in the past few months statistics can change as soon as past Olympians and Paralympians come out, so it should be noted that the facts and figures given here are correct (to the best of my knowledge) as of today.

Number of lgbt athletes in the men’s competitions        50

Number of lgbt athletes in the women’s competitions   81

Earliest identified lgbt athletes (neither were “out” at the time)

Summer          Amsterdam 1928               Otto Peltzer, Germany, athletics

Winter             Cortina d’Ampezzo 1956   Ronnie Robertson, USA, figure skating

Earliest to compete as an “out” lgbt athlete

Winter             Innsbruck 1976           John Curry, GB, figure skating (outed by a German newspaper after his competition ended, but it was half-way through the games)

Top 3 summer Olympics with the most lgbt athletes (including those who were not out at the time)

1) Sydney 2000           44 athletes

2) Atlanta 1996            30 athletes

3) Beijing 2008            28 athletes     

Top 3 winter Olympics with the most lgbt athletes (including those who were not out at the time)

1) Turin 2006                          11 athletes

2) Vancouver 2010                 9 athletes

3) Salt Lake City 2002            8 athletes

Top 2 Olympic Games with the most athletes competing as “out and proud”

1) London 2012                       26 athletes (out of 26)

2) Beijing 2008                        12 athletes (out of 29 “out” by 2012)

The Olympics with the most medals won by lgbt athletes

Atlanta 1996                21 medals, won by 17 athletes (6 gold, 3 silver, 12 bronze)

The Olympics with the most lgbt gold medal champions

Sydney 2000   10 champions

Beijing 2008    10 champions

Top 3 sports with known lgbt athletes

1) athletics                  16 athletes

2) football/soccer        14 athletes

3) figure skating          12 athletes

Top 3 sports with the most lgbt gold medals

1) equestrianism         12 gold (won by 3 athletes)

2) handball                   8 gold (won by 6 athletes)

3) diving                       5 gold (won by 2 athletes)

Top 3 lgbt athletes with the most medals

1) Lee Pearson, GB, equestrianism   12 medals (10 gold, 1 silver, 1 bronze)

2) Anja Pärson, Sweden, skiing          6 medals (1 gold, 1 silver, 4 bronze)

3) Greg Louganis, USA, diving            5 medals (4 gold, 1 silver)

Top 3 lgbt athletes with the most gold medals

1) Lee Pearson, GB, equestrianism               10 gold

2) Greg Louganis, USA, diving                        4 gold

3) Sheryl Swoopes, USA, basketball              3 gold

Lgbt athletes who have compete in the most games

6 Olympics      Robert Dover, USA, equestrianism

5 Olympics      Judith Arndt, Germany, cycling

                        Sabine Braun, Germany, heptathlon

                        Natalie Cook,  Australia, beach volleyball

                        Chris Witty, USA, speed skating and cycling

The 3 youngest lgbt athletes

13 years         

Ondrej Nepela, Czechoslovakia, figure skating          Innsbruck 1964

15 years         

 Marian Lay, Canada, swimming                                 Tokyo 1964

16 years         

Greg Louganis, USA, diving                                        Montréal 1976

The 3 oldest lgbt athletes

48 years          Robert Dover, USA, equestrianism                Athens 2004

47 years          Martina Navratilova, USA, tennis                     Athens 2004

47 years          Karen Hultzer, South Africa, archery               London 2012

The 3 youngest lgbt medal winners

16 years          Greg Louganis, USA, diving                            1 silver (Montreal 1976)

18 years          Ronnie Robertson, USA, figure skating          1 silver (Cortina d’Ampezzo 1956)

(Ewa Kłobukowska of Poland was 17 when she won 1 gold and 1 bronze in athletics in Tokyo 1964. In 1966 she was the first Olympian to fail the gender test and stripped of her medals. This test is now regarded as unreliable.)

The 3 oldest lgbt medal winners

48 years          Robert Dover, USA, equestrianism    1 bronze (Athens 2004)

45 years          Carl Hester, GB, equestrianism         1 gold (London 2012)

44 years          Robert Dover, USA, equestrianism    1 bronze (Sydney 2000)

Only lgbt athlete to compete in summer and winter Olympics

Christine Witty, USA   speed skating              1994, 1998, 2002, 2006

                                    cycling                         2000

Lgbt Olympians who are, or have been, partners of other lgbt Olympians

Judith Arndt and Petra Rossner (both Germany, cycling)

Paul O’Brien and Blyth Tait (both New Zealand, equestrianism)

Camilla Andersen (Denmark, handball) and Mia Hundvin (Norway, handball)

Alyson Annan (Australia, hockey) and Carole Thate (Netherlands, hockey)

Lotte Kiaerskou and Rikke Skov (both Denmark, handball)

Lisa Raymond (USA, tennis) and Rennae Stubbs (Australia, tennis)

Gro Hammerseng and Katia Nyberg (both Norway, football/soccer)

Jessica Harrison and Carole Péon (both France, triathlon)

Sanne van Kerkhof and Ireen Wüst (both Netherlands, speed skating)

Hans Peter Minderhoud and Edward Gal (Netherlands, equestrianism)

Ondrej Nepela (Czechoslovakia, figure skating) and Toller Cranston (Canada, figure skating)