It’s finally time for the 2026 Winter Games, and there are enough queer athletes competing this time around that you’ll be able to root for an LGBTQ+ Olympian in most of the events.
There were 193 queer athletes who competed in the 2024 Paris Olympics, making them the queerest Olympics in history, and while there are a lot fewer at the Milano Cortina Games, there will still be a huge amount of representation on your TV screen.
Team USA and Team Canada have the highest number of out LGBTQ+ athletes competing, with 3% of the entire American team being queer, according to Outsports.
At this year’s Games, there are queer athletes in most of the major sporting events, including couples who are competing on the same team and ones who are in a heated rivalry, but all of them are ready to go for the gold.
So here’s a look at all of the out queer Olympians who have stated, confirmed in interviews, or displayed on their social media their out and proud life. Let the games begin!
TEAM USA
Hilary Knight - Women's Hockey
Star forward Hilary Knight is headed to the Olympics for the fifth time as part of Team USA, becoming the first American hockey player to do so. Knight won gold in 2018 and silver in 2010, 2014, and 2022. She currently plays for the Seattle Torrent in the PWHL and is dating Olympic speed skater Brittany Bowe.
Alex Carpenter - Women's Hockey
Seattle Torrent star Alex Carpenter is representing Team USA for the third time after helping win silver medals at the Olympics in 2014 and 2022, where she was the only out American hockey player. Carpenter married Steph Klein, an assistant equipment manager with the Toronto Marlies, in Hawaii in 2023.
Cayla Barnes - Women's Hockey
Cayla Barnes, another player on the Seattle Torrent, has been to the Olympics twice before, winning gold in 2018, where she was the youngest player on Team USA, and silver in 2022. Barnes and her girlfriend, Hope Walinski, a goalie for the Providence College Women’s Hockey team in Rhode Island, have been dating for a little over three years.
Conor McDermott-Mostowy - Speed Skating
Conor McDermott-Mostowy is an openly gay speed skater who’s competing in his first Winter Olympics this year. The star crushed the men’s 1000-metre race at the 2026 U.S. Olympic Team Trials in Milwaukee, and he’s ready to bring LGBTQ+ representation to one of the biggest stages in the world.
Brittany Bowe - Speed Skating
Bowe is a speed skater who will be representing Team USA at the Olympics for the fourth time. She previously won the bronze medal in the team pursuit in 2018 and the 1000 meters in 2022. Bowe currently holds the world record in the 1000m. She has been dating Team USA women's hockey star and five-time Olympian Hilary Knight since 2022.
Amber Glenn - Figure Skating
At her Olympic debut, pansexual athlete Amber Glenn will be representing Team USA as the first out queer woman to compete in women’s figure skating. The 26-year-old is also the oldest U.S. Olympic women’s singles figure skater in nearly a century. Glenn is the first openly queer woman to ever win the Grand Prix Finale and is the first U.S. women’s champion to win three back-to-back national crowns since Michelle Kwan.
Breezy Johnson - Alpine Skiing
U.S. Alpine skier Breezy Johnson will be hitting the slopes for Team USA at the 2026 Winter Games in Milano Cortina. Johnson previously qualified for the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing but was unable to compete due to injury. She came out as bisexual in a post on Instagram that same year, writing, "To those people out there who feel a little different and want to see people like them at the top, I am here to represent that we are out there, we are normal, and we can do whatever we want.
Maddy Schaffrick - Snowboarding
Snowboarder Madeline "Maddy" Schaffrick is set to compete for Team USA in the Snowboard Pro Halfpipe event. She returned to the sport after taking 10 years off following her retirement at age 20. During her time away, she worked as a publisher and a coach before making her comeback in 2025.
TEAM CANADA
Marie-Philip Poulin - Women’s Hockey
Montreal Victoire captain Marie-Philip Poulin is known as “Captain Clutch” for a reason. She has scored crucial goals in the four Olympic finals she’s been a part of, winning three gold medals and a silver. She is the only hockey player, male or female, to score in four Olympic gold medal games. MPP, as she’s affectionately known by fans, is married to her Victoire and Team Canada teammate Laura Stacey.
Laura Stacey - Women’s Hockey
Montreal Victoire star Laura Stacey is headed to the Olympics for the third time after taking home a silver medal in 2018 and gold at the 2022 Beijing Olympics, where she scored four goals and two assists. Stacey is married to her Victoire and Team Canada teammate Marie-Philip Poulin.
Emerance Maschmeyer - Women’s Hockey
Goalie Emerance Maschmeyer joined the brand new expansion team, the Vancouver Goldeneyes, for the 2025-26 season and is now set to play at her second Olympics after taking home a gold medal in 2022. She married her former Team Canada teammate Geneviève Lacasse in 2023, and the two now share a son named Beckham.
Emily Clark - Women’s Hockey
This will mark Ottawa Charge star Emily Clark’s third time at the Winter Olympics, having taken home silver in 2018 and gold in 2022, where she recorded two goals and one assist.
Erin Ambrose - Women’s Hockey
Erin Ambrose is the third player on the Montreal Victoire who is headed for the Winter Olympics. In 2022, she helped win the gold medal for Team Canada, where her four goals were the most made by a defensive player in the tournament. Ambrose came out as queer in 2020 in a piece she wrote about her mental health for Hockey Canada.
Micah Zandee-Hart - Women’s Hockey
New York Sirens captain Micah Zandee-Hart made her Olympic debut at the Beijing Games in 2022, where Team Canada took home the gold medal, and she recorded four assists.
Brianne Jenner - Women’s Hockey
Hockey player Brianne Jenner normally plays for the Ottawa Charge where she is the captain of the team, but will be representing Canada at the Olympics this year. Jenner married her longtime partner Hayleigh Cudmore, a former teammate with Cornell, in 2019.
Shilo Rousseau - Biathlon
Shilo Rousseau will be making her Olympic debut when she represents Team Canada at the Milano Cortina Games. Rousseau started skiing when she was 10-years-old and in 2023 she took home three medals at the FISU World University Games.
Paul Poirier - Figure Skating
Out gay ice dancer Paul Poirier will headline a contingent of 12 figures skater who will be competing for Team Canada in the Olympics. This will mark Poirier’s fourth appearance at the Olympics and third games with his ice dance partner Piper Gilles. The pair have won back-to-back silver medals at the ISU World Championships in 2024 and 2025.
TEAM GREAT BRITAIN
Lewis Gibson - Ice Dancing
Gay Scottish ice dancer Lewis Gibson and his partner, Lilah Fear, are headed to the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics to represent Great Britain. This marks the duo’s second Olympic outing, as they also competed in Beijing four years ago, where they finished in 10th place. This year, they are favored to medal, as they are currently ranked first in the ISU World Standings.
Gus Kenworthy - Freestyle Skiing
Gus Kenworthy will officially compete at his 4th Winter Olympics as part of Team Great Britain’s ski team. The out and proud gay athlete made history with his iconic televised kiss with his boyfriend at the 2018 Olympics. Kenworthy is now making his triumphant return to the Olympics after retiring a couple of years ago.
Bruce Mouat - Curling
Out gay Scottish curler, Bruce Mouat, has led his team to two world championship titles in 2023 and 2025 and is now headed to Italy to represent Team Great Britain. This will mark Mouat’s second time at the Olympics after taking home a silver medal at the 2022 Beijing Games.
Makayla Gerken Schofield - Freestyle Skiing
Pansexual skier Makayla Gerken Schofield is competing for Team Great Britain at her second Olympic Games, after making her debut in Beijing in 2022. She only finished in eighth place at her first games, but is working toward a medal this year.
Ronja Savolainen - Women’s Hockey
Finnish hockey player Ronja Savolainen will be returning for her third Winter Olympics, having previously competed in PyeongChang in 2018 and Beijing in 2022, where she earned bronze medals both times. During the PWHL season, Savolainen plays left defense (LD) for the Ottawa Charge, and she will be playing against her fiancée, Anna Kjellbin, in Milan, who has been selected to play for Team Sweden.
Sanni Ahola - Women’s Hockey
Ottawa Charge goalie Sanni Ahola is making her Olympic debut with Team Finland. This may be her first Olympic outing, but she won her first game with the PWHL last January when she managed to stop 31 shots on goal in a single game.
Michelle Karvinen - Women’s Hockey
PWHL star Michelle Karvinen normally plays for the Vancouver Golden Eyes, but will be representing Finland at her fourth Olympic Games. Karvinen has three bronze medals but is hoping for gold this time around. She married her wife, Josie, in October 2024.
Anii Keisala - Women’s Hockey
Goalie Anii Keisala is making her Olympic debut this year, where she will be representing Finland as part of their national hockey team. Outside of the Olympics, she plays for HPK Hämeenlinna in the Auroraliiga, which is Finland's top women's league.
Ida Kuoppala - Women’s Hockey
Ida Kuoppala is a star left winger in the Swedish Women's Hockey League, but will now be representing Finland at her Olympic debut.
Viivi Vainikka - Women’s Hockey
Viivi Vainikka started playing hockey when she was only five-years-old and made her debut with the top Finnish women’s hockey league, the Naisten Liiga, when she was just 15. The Milano Cortina Games will be Vainikka’s Olympic debut, where she’ll be representing Team Finland.
TEAM SWEDEN
Anna Kjellbin - Women’s Hockey
Swedish hockey player Anna Kjellbin is returning for her second Olympics as a part of Team Sweden, after Beijing in 2022. She currently plays defence for the Toronto Sceptres of the PWHL. She will be competing for gold against her fiancée, Finnish hockey player Ronja Savolainen.
Sandra Naeslund - Freestyle Skiing
Swedish freestyle skier Sandra Näslund is already a gold medalist, having brought home gold for Sweden in freestyle skiing at the 2022 Beijing Games. Milan–Cortina will mark her fourth time representing her home country at the Olympic Games, after previously competing in Sochi, PyeongChang, and Beijing.
TEAM BRAZIL
Nicole Silveira - Skeleton
Nicole Silveira is an openly bisexual Brazilian Olympic skeleton racer competing in the 2026 Winter Olympics! The gag is that she’s competing against her own wife, fellow Olympian Kim Meylemans. Previously, she competed in the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, representing Brazil.
TEAM BELGIUM
Kim Meylemans - Skeleton
Skeleton racer Kim Meylemans is headed to the Olympics for the third time and will be representing Belgium and competing against her wife, Nicole Silveira, who represents Brazil. Meylemans was the first Belgian skeleton racer to compete in the Olympic Games when she made her debut in 2018.
TEAM AUSTRIA
Laura Wolf - Freestyle Skiing
Austrian freestyle skier Laura Wolf will be making her third appearance at the Winter Olympics after competing in 2018 and 2022 for her home country. Wolf started her athletic career as an alpine racer, but switched to skiing when she was 10 years old and never looked back
TEAM CZECH REPUBLIC
Aneta Lédlová - Women’s Hockey
Aneta Lédlová was a member of the first-ever Czech Republic women's hockey team to qualify for the Olympics. The 2026 Winter Games will be her second time at the Olympics after competing in 2022 in Beijing. Lédlová married her wife in 2018, and the two have a baby together.
Krystina Kaltounkova - Women’s Hockey
Star forward Krystina Kaltounkova is a player on the New York Sirens who will be making her Olympic debut by representing the Czech Republic as part of their women’s hockey team.
Martina Sablikova - Speed Skating
Martina Sablikova is a star speed skater for the Czech Republic who already has three gold medals under her belt. At the Vancouver Olympics in 2010, she became the first Czech woman to win two gold medals in the same Winter Games.
TEAM FRANCE
Guillaume Cizeron - Figure Skating
Guillaume Cizeron is on France’s Olympic team alongside his new partner, Laurence Fournier Beaudry. Cizeron took home a gold medal at the 2022 Beijing Olympics and a silver medal in 2018, with his longtime partner Gabriella Papadakis, with whom he also won five world titles.
Chloe Aurard-Bushee - Women’s Hockey
Boston star Fleet forward Chloe Aurard-Bushee played two seasons with the New York Sirens before signing a one-year contract with the Fleet for the 2025-26 season. Now, she’s on her way to her first-ever Olympic Games in the hopes of taking home the gold for France. Aurard-Bushee got engaged to girlfriend, Ella, in 2024, and the two married and hyphenated their last names in October 2025.
Lore Baudrit - Women’s Hockey
Lore Baudrit is a French ice hockey player who started playing the sport when she was only five years old. She plays club hockey with Leksands IF in the Swedish Women's Hockey League, but will be competing in the Milano Cortina Olympics for France. As captain, Baudrit will be leading the French women’s national team in their first-ever Olympic appearance.
TEAM GERMANY
Nina Jobst-Smith - Women’s Hockey
German hockey player Nina Jobst-Smith has qualified to represent her home country at the 2026 Winter Games. Normally, the PWHL player is on the ice for the Vancouver Goldeneyes, where she plays alongside her partner, Ashton Bell. These Games will mark Jobst-Smith’s Olympic debut.
TEAM ITALY
Filippo Ambrosini - Figure Skating
Rebecca Ghilardi and Filippo Ambrosini skate during the Pairs Short program of the 2025 ISU World Figure Skating Championships at TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts, on March 26, 2025.
Geoff Robins / AFP via Getty Images
Out and proud Italian figure skater Filippo Ambrosini is headed to the 2026 Winter Games alongside his skating partner, Rebecca Ghilardi, to represent their home country of Italy. This marks the duo’s second Olympic appearance, having previously placed sixteenth in the short program at the 2022 Games.
TEAM SWITZERLAND
Laura Zimmermann - Women’s Hockey
WCHA player Laura Zimmermann normally plays forward for the St. Cloud State Huskies, but at this year’s Games, she will be representing her home country of Switzerland as she makes her Olympic debut. She will face off against her “love,” Sanni Ahola, who will be playing for Team Finland.
