SPORTS
Record Number of Out Athletes at Paralympics
There are more than twice as many out participants than in 2017
BY TAT BELLAMY-WALKER
More than two dozen
LGBTQ athletes are
competing at the
2020 Tokyo Paralympics,
which is a record-high
number of queer participants at
the games.
At the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics
— a major international
sporting event for people with
disabilities — multiple LGBTQ
athletes are also at the forefront
of the competition, which
kicked off in Japan on August
24 and will run until September
5. Outsports reports that out
of more than 4,400 athletes at
this year’s competition, at least
31 are out. The total number of
out queer sports players in this
year’s competition is more than
twice the number of LGBTQ
players at the 2017 Rio Summer
A record number of LGBTQ athletes are competing at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics.
Paralympics in Brazil.
The United States and the
United Kingdom are both tied
for the most out paralympians,
REUTERS/ATHIT PERAWONGMETHA TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
with nine, but out athletes in this
year’s competition also hail from
Australia, Canada, Germany, and
Brazil. This year’s LGBTQ competitors
include US gold medalist
Asya Miller, who plays goalball, a
sport designed for athletes with
visual disabilities; wheelchair
basketball player Kaitlyn Eaton
of the US; cyclist Katie-George
Dunlevy of Ireland, who is blind;
Paralympic swimmer Edênia
Garcia of Brazil; and non-binary
track and fi eld runner Robyn
Lambird of Australia who has cerebral
palsy.
LGBTQ athletes who have disabilities
often face adversity and
encounter ableism and homophobia.
In a blog post last year, Garcia
recalled the discrimination she
has faced on both sides.
“Being a lesbian and a person
with a disability is a double challenge,
as you carry the stigma of
being invisible,” she said.
The Paralympic Games started
on August 24 and will continue
until September 5.
Bi Olympian Jack Woolley Hospitalized After Attack
Taekwondo athlete is recovering from facial reconstructive surgery
BY TAT BELLAMY-WALKER
Out bisexual Olympian
Jack Woolley was brutally
beaten by a violent
mob in Dublin, Ireland
over the weekend, the athlete said
in an Instagram post on August
14.
Woolley, 22, who competed on
Ireland’s 2020 Taekwondo team,
took to social media with blood and
cuts all over his face, according to
a photo shared with more than
40,000 Instagram followers after
the attack. Woolley said he was
heading home from the bar when a
group of men and women abruptly
ambushed him. While it is unclear
what provoked the attack, one of
the suspects in the group allegedly
punched Woolley in the face and
said, “my mistake wrong person,”
before they fl ed the scene. Woolley
suffered multiple injuries to his
LGBTQ Olympian Jack Woolley is recovering from a violent attack in Dublin, Ireland.
mouth and had facial reconstructive
surgery.
“Last night (Friday 13th August)
I went for a meal with my friend,”
Woolley wrote in an Instagram
post. “Followed by a bar for a couple
INSTAGRAM/JACK WOOLLEY
of drinks. Heading back along
the River Liffey a gang of roughy
8-12 men and women in their 20s
began violently attacking people
along the boardwalk. Unfortunately
I was victim to these random attacks
… as I was just walking by I
was punched in the face by one of
these group members.”
He added, “Luckily I was able
to phone an ambulance and stay
conscious. My friends helped me
through out all of this and I’m glad
to say they both are well and safe. I
am lucky this is all that happened
as there were a handful of us hospitalised
and two men stabbed. I’m
currently waiting in James’s hospital
for mouth surgery.”
The Olympian’s mother, Annette
Woolley, said Woolley is expected to
be discharged from the hospital.
“He said he was okay, and he’s
going to get some sleep…we’re hoping
that they’ll let him out today,”
the victim’s mother told The Irish
Times.
According to The Irish Times,
local authorities said the investigation
is ongoing, and no arrests
have been made.
AUGUST 26 - SEPTEMBER 8,20 2021 | GayCityNews.com
/GayCityNews.com
