A record number of 43 openly LGBTI athletes are competing in this year’s Olympic Games.
They hail from countries across the globe, including Finland, New Zealand, Brazil and the UK.
The U.S. is sending seven out LGBT competitors — all women. Seimone Augustus, Brittney Griner and Angel McCoughtry are out basketball athletes, with Kelly Griffin and Jillion Potter representing rugby. Ashley Nee (a kayak whitewater slalom athlete) and Megan Rapinoe (a soccer athlete) are also LGBT participants. Rapine’s coach, Jill Ellis, is also a lesbian.
It all helps to make the 2016 Olympic Games the most inclusive in history.
ThinkProgress suggests this number will likely continue to grow as major sponsors are backing more openly LGBT athletes than ever before.
“The sports world is far more evolved on LGBTQ issues than we give it credit for,” founder of Outsports.com Cyd Zeigler told ThinkProgress. “While there may still be issues in some front offices, the athletes and fans have been ready, willing and able to accept and welcome gay teammates and colleagues for many years.”
The first athlete to compete openly at any games was U.S. equestrian star Robert Dover, who attended every Olympics between 1984 and 2004, and took home four bronze medals. Dover came out during the 1988 Seoul Olympics, and currently holds the record for the most number of games attended by an LGBT athlete.
See the full list below:
Nicola Adams (Great Britain, boxing)
Seimone Augustus (USA, basketball)
Tom Bosworth (Great Britain, race walk)
Dutee Chand (India, track & field)
Tom Daley (Great Britain, diving)
Carlien Dirkse van den Heuvel (Netherlands, field hockey)
Lisa Dahlkvist (Sweden, soccer)
Katie Duncan (New Zealand, soccer)
Nilla Fisher (Sweden, soccer)
Amini Fonua (Tonga, swimming)
Larissa França (Brazil, beach volleyball)
Edward Gal (Netherlands, equestrian)
Kelly Griffin (USA, rugby)
Brittney Griner (USA, basketball)
Carl Hester (Great Britain, equestrian)
Michelle Heyman (Australia, soccer)
Mélanie Henique (France, swimming)
Stephanie Labbe (Canada, soccer)
Alexandra Lacrabère # (France, handball)
Hedvig Lindahl (Sweden, soccer)
Ari-Pekka Liukkonen (Finland, swimming)
Robbie Manson (New Zealand, rowing)
Hans Peter Minderhoud (Netherlands, equestrian)
Ian Matos (Brazil, diving)
Angel McCoughtry (USA, basketball)
Nadine Müller (Germany, discus)
Marie-Eve Nault (Canada, soccer)
Ashley Nee (USA, kayak whitewater slalom)
Maartje Paumen (Netherlands, field hockey)
Mayssa Pessoa (Brazil, handball)
Jillion Potter (USA, rugby)
Megan Rapinoe (USA, soccer)
Helen Richardson-Walsh (Great Britain, hockey)
Kate Richardson-Walsh (Great Britain, hockey)
Carolina Seger (Sweden, soccer)
Caster Semenya (South Africa, track & field)
Martina Strut (Germany, pole vault)
Melissa Tancredi (Canada, soccer)
Susannah Townsend (Great Britian, field hockey)
Sunette Stella Viljoen (South Africa, javelin)
Julia Vasconcelos (Brazil, taekowndo)
Jeffrey Wammes (Netherlands, gymnastics)
Spencer Wilton (Great Britain, equestrian)
