Rainbow Olympics

Ritika Das

(ritikadas108@gmail.com)

The recently concluded Tokyo Olympics and the Paralympics 2020 have proved to be a great inspiration and morale booster not only for the entire world but have also become a vivid example of human perseverance in the face of the most severe pandemic that the world has ever witnessed.

But along with it, this year has also become a landmark for the history of the Olympic Games because of the record-breaking participation of LGBTQ+ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer and others) athletes due to which it is now popularly coined as Rainbow Olympics, 2020.

More than 180 publicly out LGBTQ athletes had participated in summer Olympics 2020, exceeding the Rio Olympics participation of 56. It is the first time that such a huge number of publicly out and proud LGBTQ athletes have participated in the Olympics and not only won medals, but also a million hearts.

The USA had the most number of LGBTQ athletes, followed by Brazil and Canada. Dutee Chand is the first-ever Indian lesbian sportsperson to come out publicly and represent her country in the Women's 100 meters and 200-meter race. And not only making their presence felt, the 'Team LGBTQ+' as they are referred to by international media has even managed to win a total of 32 medals (eleven gold, twelve silver and nine bronze)

This year, several nations entrusted the responsibility of flag-bearer to LGBTQ athletes as a mark of support and solidarity to the entire LGBTQ+ community.

There have also been instances where players have used their free speech to spread awareness about the injustices and oppression that the third gender people have to face. One such example was when Raven Saunders of the USA raised her arms and crossed them in the shape of an X after receiving her silver medal in shot-put, indicating her support "for oppressed people." Many athletes have also taken these games as an opportunity to come out publicly for the first time and represent themselves as proud LGBTQ athletes.

Among the many other firsts for the LGBTQ+ community in this year's Olympics, Laurel Hubbard from New Zealand marked the first time entry of an openly trans athlete to compete in an individual event, that is weight lifting competition. She used to earlier compete in the male category but after coming out, she shifted to the women category. Even though she couldn't finish on the podium, but the mere courage of coming out and participating in a new gender category itself gave her an abundance of love and applause from her country as well as around the world.

Another first was when Quinn, a Canadian midfielder in the women soccer game became the first-ever openly out transgender and non-binary athlete to not only win a bar of gold but also to win a medal ever in Olympic Games. Non-binary is a term people use to describe genders that don't fall into one of the established two categories, male or female. These people usually prefer to be referred to as they/them.

More than medals, it's the outpouring of love, acceptance and respect that have made the LGBTQ athletes more expressive and unapologetic while addressing themselves and what they feel and think. For instance, Tom Daley who won a gold medal in synchronized diving with Matty Lee for Britain said, "I feel incredibly proud to say that I am a gay man and also an Olympic champion."

Not just in Summer Olympics, but even the Paralympics marked the largest number of LGBTQ members, that is at least 30 athletes participating in this year's games and Robyn Lambert has become the first-ever trans athlete to earn a medal at the Paralympics in women's 100-meter T34 wheelchair sprint.

This year's Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics Games 2020 greatly emphasized that sports has no gender and hence it should not be just limited to male-female centric. There are many sportspersons losing chances to participate in various sports events only because of a lack of inclusiveness for people who cannot be categorized to either of the already established gender categories.

Hence, all the sports events should try to have a separate category for the LGBTQ+ community and give them an equal chance to compete and earn recognition. Lastly, this outpouring acceptance globally may also give strength and confidence to all those people who hesitate to reveal their gender preferences due to social stigma and apprehensions.