A federal judge extended a temporary order Tuesday for a transgender girl to play soccer for her high school team while considering arguments for a longer-term order and a possible trial as the teen and another student challenge a New Hampshire ban.
The families of Parker Tirrell, 15, and Iris Turmelle, 14, filed a lawsuit Aug. 16 seeking to overturn the Fairness in Women’s Sports Act that Republican Gov. Chris Sununu signed into law last month. While Turmelle doesn’t plan to play sports until December, Tirrell successfully sought an emergency order allowing her to start soccer practice on Aug. 19.
U.S. District Court Chief Judge Landya McCafferty found that Tirrell had demonstrated likely success on the merits of the case. She extended that order Tuesday, the day it was expiring, for another two weeks through Sept. 10. McCafferty also listened to arguments on the plaintiffs’ broader motion for a preliminary order blocking the state from enforcing the law while the case proceeds.
McCafferty also raised the possibility of a trial this fall, before winter track season starts for Turmelle, who attends a different school.
Chris Erchull, an attorney at GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders representing the the students, said he would be ready for a trial. Michael DeGrandis, an attorney for the state, said he would need to discuss that with the attorney general’s office.
“As soon as Iris walks into school next week, she’s going to be suffering harm because of the way this law impacts her,” Erchull said in a news conference afterward. “She has no guarantees that she will be able to participate in school sports this year.”
The lawsuit said the law violates constitutional protections and federal laws because the teens are being denied equal educational opportunities and are being discriminated against because they are transgender.
Lawyers for the state said the teens’ lawyers haven’t proven their case and they haven’t shown why alternatives, such as participating in coed teams, couldn’t be an option.
The bill signed by Sununu bans transgender athletes in grades 5 to 12 from teams that align with their gender identity. It require schools to designate all teams as either girls, boys or coed, with eligibility determined based on students’ birth certificates “or other evidence.”
Sununu had said it “ensures fairness and safety in women’s sports by maintaining integrity and competitive balance in athletic competitions.” He said it added the state to nearly half in the nation that adopted similar measures.
The rights of transgender people — and especially young people — have become a major political battleground in recent years as trans visibility has increased. Most Republican-controlled states have banned gender-affirming health care for transgender minors, and several have adopted policies limiting which school bathrooms trans people can use and barring trans girls from some sports competitions.
Last Friday, two New Hampshire teenagers – soccer players who have been living as girls since a young age – have sued the state of New Hampshire for instituting a transgender sports ban. The lawsuit was filed with help from the ACLU.
The lawsuit claims that the ban on trans inclusion in girls’ sports violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment and Title IX, a 1972 amendment that further guarantees equal treatment in education on the basis of sex.
The lawsuit also reveals that the plaintiffs are aiming to file a restraining order against the defendants alongside their attempt to issue a temporary injunction on the bill to allow the girls to go back to playing sports.
Chris Erchull, senior staff attorney with GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD), said in a statement, “Sports are a pillar of education in New Hampshire public schools because of the countless benefits of physical activity in a team environment, including physical and mental health, leadership skills, and social development. New Hampshire cannot justify singling out transgender girls to deny them essential educational benefits available to other students.”
H.B. 1205 was signed into law last month by Gov. Chris Sununu (R). The bill bans any transgender girl from participating on girls’ sports teams throughout high school. It was signed with two other anti-trans bills on the same day. A fourth bill, which would have overturned the state’s anti-discrimination measures for trans people, was vetoed by the governor.
The complaint names the Commissioner of the New Hampshire Department of Education, members of the New Hampshire Board of Education, as well as members of the girls’ high school school board, as defendants in the suit. The plaintiffs are represented by Chris Erchull and Ben Klein at GLAD, Henry Klementowicz and Gilles Bissonnette at the ACLU of New Hampshire, and Louis Lobel, Kevin DeJong, and Elaine Blais at Goodwin.
Henry Klementowicz, Deputy Legal Director of the ACLU of New Hampshire, said in a statement, “H.B. 1205 stigmatizes and discriminates against transgender girls and tells them they aren’t deserving of the same educational opportunities to other girls in public schools. All students do better in school when they have access to resources that improve their mental, emotional, and physical health and [the girls] deserve that same access.”
Valentina Petrillo will get to show her speed at the Paralympic Games in Paris, after more than four years of uncertainty and setbacks.
The Italian Paralympic Committee confirmed her selection to their Paralympic team over the weekend. The selection makes Petrillo the first publicly out transgender athlete in Paralympic history.
Ness Murby came out publicly as trans after the last time they competed at the Paralympics. They did not compete at the Tokyo Paralympics after coming out and is not currently listed to compete in Paris.
“I have been waiting for this day for three years and in these past three years I have done everything possible to earn it,” she told BBC Sport. “The historic value of being the first transgender woman to compete at the Paralympics is an important symbol of inclusion.”
Petrillo, visually impaired since contracting Stargardt disease at age 14, will compete at 200-meter and 400-meter races in the T12 classification, which adjusts for visual impairment.
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Petrillo may lack sight, but she’s had a sharp focus on a vision of being on this grand stage for most of her life. She’s stayed the course and keeping running fast even when the way to the Paralympics looked to be a dead end.
How Valentina Petrillo got to the Paris Paralympics
Prior to transition, Petrillo was an 11-time national champion in the men’s competition. She sought to compete in women’s para athletic events since deciding to come out as trans in 2018 and starting hormone replacement therapy in 2019.
She met International Paralympic Committee and World Para Athletics standards to compete in the female category. But she ran up against friction from FISPES (Italian Federation for Paralympic and Experimental Sport), the national governing body for adaptive sport.
Officials initially refused to allow her to compete in female events. They finally relented prior to their national para athletics championships at the end of the 2020 season.
Petrillo became the first transgender woman to compete and win a national athletics championship in Italy in 2020. (Photo by Marco Mantovani/Getty Images)
The next barrier her way came in 2021 when she was reclassified from T12 to T13 at mid-year, which meant having to meet a faster qualifying standard. Despite setting a 400-meter national record and promising international debut with a 5th-place effort at the 2021 European Para Athletic Championships, Petrillo was left off Italy’s roster for Tokyo.
“The day that I learned I was not going to Tokyo, I happened to find myself on an athletics track,” she stated in an interview with BiDiMedia in 2023. “From that day I immediately started to think about Paris and building what was possible.”
She met the next obstacle in her path in March 2023. Petrillo withdrew from the World Masters Indoor Athletic Championships in Poland due to anti-trans threats and concerns for her safety. A few days later, the ban on transgender women by World Athletics went into effect and worries grew that World Para Athletics would follow suit.
World Para Athletics choose to stay with current IOC standards and guidelines instead, and Petrillo earned a place at that year’s World Para Athletics Championships. She ended up a pair of bronze medals in Paris, including a personal best at 400 meters and huge boost toward to making a return trip for the big show in 2024.
The scrutiny, hopes and a dream from the past
Petrillo is scheduled to make her first appearance on the Paralympic stage on September 2. She will step in the starter blocks for the opening round of the women’s T12 400 meters, where she has the 6th fastest time in the world this year.
The discussion and speculation around a transgender woman with speed and accomplishment is brewing with competition more than two weeks away, as expected. Some say the scrutiny around Petrillo may be worse than the recent Olympic boxing controversy.
Pietro Mennea’s golden sprint at the 1980 Olympics inspires Petrillo’s try for Paralympic gold in 2024. (Left photo by Tony Duffy/Getty Images Right Photo by Matthias Hangst/Getty Images)
The 200 meters is Petrillo favorite event because of Mennea. The memory of his win 44 years ago has been her inspiration since. “I play that race over and over again,” she remembered in an interview with Outsports in 2020. “It gives me that same feeling of motivation and excitement.”
The memory spurs her bring her best races to the Paralympics, but she also seeks to set an example through her story which write a new chapter in front of the world.
I want to become the symbol of a world that is rebelling. I believe that in the future we need examples like mine,” Petrillo noted in an interview with Fanpage.it in July. “I am convinced that it will lead to something. Just see me in Paris at the Paralympics “
“I’m going to do the most beautiful thing, the one I’ve always dreamed of in life,” she continued. “I’m running with women.”
Team LGBTQ+ (i.e. all of the publicly out lesbian, gay, bi, trans and queer athletes) have finished in 7th place in the medal count, with an impressive 42 medals, consisting of 15 gold medals, 13 silver medals and 14 bronze medals. Slay!
In the traditional medal count (gold-silver-bronze) ranking, Team LGBTQ+ would be in 7th place.
That’s ahead of every single country that criminalises being gay, reports OutSports.
Japan was just in front of Team LGBTQ+ with 45 medals, while Italy was close behind with 40 medals, and the USA was way out in front of everyone with 126. Show offs.
For context, last time round, Team LGBTQ+ won a grand total of 32 team and individual medals – 11 gold, 12 silver and nine bronze – placing 10th in the 2021 Tokyo Games.
This year, Team LGBTQ+ smashed that number with their most-ever medals won.
However, that number will no doubt continue to increase over the course of future games as more athletes feel comfortable sharing their identity with the world.
Carl Hester is part of the bronze medal-winning Dressage Team. (Mike Hewitt/Getty)
Bronze Medals
Laura Aarts, Netherlands, Water Polo – Laura Aarts secured a bronze medal in the pool, beating the US.
Amandine Buchard, France, Judo – Amandine Buchard went from silver in Tokyo to gold in Paris in the 52kg category.
Natalya Diehm, Australia, BMX Freestyle – Natalya Diehm won a bronze medal which marked her as Australia’s first ever Women’s BMX Freestyle medal winner at an Olympic Games.
Lauren Doyle, Alev Kelter, Steph Rovetti, Kristi Kirshe, USA, Rugby Sevens – Rugby Sevens’ US team was bolstered by their LGBTQ+ stars and secured a bronze medal.
Beatriz Ferreira, Brazil, Boxing – Beatriz Ferreira won her second Olympic boxing medal after a thrilling match.
Carl Hester, Great Britain, Equestrian – Carl Hester (and his horse, Fame) secured his fourth Olympic medal in Paris with a bronze in Team Dressage.
Gabi Guimaraes, Ana Carolina Da Silva, Rosamaria Montibeller, Roberta, Brazil, Volleyball – The Brazillian women’s indoor volleyball team beat Turkey in the bronze medal match.
Evy Leibfarth, USA, Canoe Slalom – 20-year-old Evy Leibfarth, the first American to compete in three canoe/kayak Olympic disciplines, came away with a bronze.
Cindy Ngamba, Refugee team, Boxing – 25-year-old Cindy Ngamba has won a bronze medal in boxing, becoming the first athlete from the Olympic Refugee Team to win a medal at the Olympics.
Nesthy Petecio, Philippines, Boxing – Nesty Petecio won a bronze medal in boxing and is planning to retire after the Paris Olympics.
Tabea Schendekehl, Germany, Rowing – Tabea Schendekehl competed in the women’s quadruple sculls team event where she won a bronze medal.
Lea Schuller, Sara Doorsoun, Felicitas Rauch, Ann- Katrin Berger, Germany, Soccer – With four out players, Germany’s soccer team beat Spain 1-0.
Rafaela Silva, Brazil, Judo – Rafaela Silva won bronze in mixed-team judo, she won Brazil’s first gold medal at Rio 2016.
Samantha Whitcomb and Amy Atwell, Australia, Basketball – Winning bronze, Australia’s women’s basketball team secured their first Olympic medal since 2012.
Tom Daley wins a silver with his diving partner Noah Williams. (Clive Rose/Getty)
Silver Medals
Olivia Apps, Sophie de Goede, Maddy Grant, Canada, Rugby Sevens – The Canadian team took home the silver medal in women’s rugby sevens.
Perris Benegas, USA, BMX Freestyle – Perris Benegas freestyled her way to a silver medal after knee surgery a few months earlier.
Tom Daley, Great Britain, Diving – Avid knitter and Olympic icon Tom Daleywon a silver medal in the 10-meter platform synchro competition, his fifth Olympic medal, while his husband and sons looked on.
Raz Hershko, Israel, Judo – Raz Hershko won a bronze in Tokyo and secured a silver in Paris in the +78kg Judo category.
Michelle Kroppen, Germany, Archery – After a bronze team medal in Tokyo, Michelle Kroppen earned silver in the mixed team event.
Cathrine Laudrup-Dufour, Denmark, Equestrian – Cathrine Laudrup-Dufour was part of the Danish dressage team who won silver.
Marta, Adriana, Tarciane, Tamires, Luciana, Lorena, Taina, Lauren Leal, Brazil, Soccer – The Brazilian women’s soccer squad had the second most out, LGBTQ+ athletes of any team.
Emma Twigg, New Zealand, Rowing – Emma Twigg won a silver medal in single sculls, dethroned from her previous gold.
Sha’Carri Richardson, USA, Track & Field – Bisexual track and field star Sha’Carri Richardson won a silver medal in the 100-meter sprint.
Lauren Scruggs, USA, Fencing – Lauren Scruggs won silver in an all-American women’s individual final, she also won gold in a team event.
Maria Perez, Spain, Track & Field – Maria Perez proved queer people do walk fast; she got a silver medal in the 20km racewalk.
Marianne Vos, Netherlands, Cycling – From her first Olympics in 2008, Marianne Vos went on to win silver in the 2024 women’s road race.
Haleigh Washington, USA, Volleyball – Bisexual volleyball player Haleigh Washington was part fo the US women’s volleyball team who secured silver, the runners-up to Italy.
Alice Bellandi secures a gold medal for Team Italy. (Alex Gottschalk/Getty)
Gold Medals
Alice Bellandi, Italy, Judo – Alice Bellandi secured Italy a gold in Judo and to celebrate the win she smooched her girlfriend (fellow judo star Jasmine Martin, who competes for South Africa).
Amandine Buchard, France, Judo – Amandine Buchard was part of the mixed-team gold medal for a home crowd in France.
Svenja Brunckhorst, Germany, 3×3 Basketball – Svenja Brunckhorst is a professional basketball player in Germany and France who won gold for the German team.
Tierna Davidson, USA, Soccer – Tierna Davidson is currently the only out player on Team US, after winning a bronze in Tokyo she’ll now be taking home a gold.
Paola Egonu, Italy, Volleyball – With Paola Egonu’s triumphant performance, Italy won its first-ever gold Volleyball medal.
Kellie Harrington, Ireland, Boxing – Kellie Harrington is the first Irish female athlete to win gold medals at consecutive Olympic Games. She is now looking forward to a quiet life with her wife Mandy.
Ana Patricia, Brazil, Beach Volleyball – With her World Championship teammate Eduarda Santos Lisboa, Ana Patricia secured the gold in a thrilling match against Canada.
Maria Perez, Spain, Track and Field – Maria Perez won gold in the marathon walk relay, after earning a silver medal in the individual 20km event.
Sha’Carri Richardson, USA, Track & Field – Sha’Carri Richardson added a gold in the 4×100-meter relay to sit beside her silver medal in the 100-meter sprint.
Lauren Scruggs, USA, Fencing – Lauren Scruggs won a team gold medal, after a silver in individual. Scruggs makes history as the first Black American woman and the first Black, out lesbian to win an individual medal in Olympic fencing.
Breanna Stewart, Diana Taurasi, Alyssa Thomas, Brittney Griner, Jewell Loyd, Chelsea Gray, Kahleah Copper, USA, Basketball – Over half of the Team USA women’s basketball team, including a couple of coaches and staff, are publicly out. The team narrowly beat France for the gold.
Anne Veenendaal and Marleen Jochems, Netherlands, Field Hockey –
Lara Vadlau, Austria, Sailing – Lara Vadlau and her dingy partner Lukae Maehr won the first Gold medal of this year’s Olympics for Austria.
Frederic Wandres, Germany, Equestrian – Frederic Wandres (and his horse Bluetooth) trotted his way to gold in the German team dressage event.
Portia Woodman-Wickliffe, New Zealand, Rugby Sevens – Portia Woodman-Wickliffe won gold, her third Olympic medal for New Zealand. Woodman-Wickliffe is married to fellow Black Fern and World Cup winner Renee Wickliffe.
While many athletes scrabble for sponsors to keep their Olympic dreams afloat, gay rower Robbie Manson has taken a novel approach by setting himself up on the adults-only OnlyFans website.
The 34-year-old New Zealander told Reuters that the revenue from the subscription-based service used for publishing adult-themed content had vastly increased his income.
“I get more than double what I would be on otherwise as an athlete — read into that what you will, but I am making more from OnlyFans than I am from rowing at this stage,” he said on Wednesday.
“I thought, if I’m going to do it, you have to tell everyone, be really open and I think you need to feel that any publicity is good publicity.”
Manson was speaking the day before his Olympic men’s double sculls final together with Jordan Parry, and said he had been inspired to create a profile on the website by Australian diver Matthew Mitchum, whose Olympic gold in the Beijing Games was the first won by an openly gay athlete.
“The fact that I’m gay, I have the gay following and the audience already, and I’m slightly leaning into that. I wouldn’t say it’s for everyone, (but) for other athletes, there’s definitely an opportunity there,” he said.
Asked what kind of content he put behind the OnlyFans paywall, Manson did not want to give too much away.
“Artistic nudes — I don’t want to say too much more than that, I think people need to subscribe if they want to know what’s exactly on there,” he said.
“But in the captions, I just try to give people a little bit of an update from time to time, like what’s going on in my life or training or journey to this point, towards the Olympics.”
Manson said that there were some nerves before he made his first post on the site.
“I guess a little bit, I just kind of did a post — I had thought about it and set it up in the background, and then it was like ‘oh, I don’t know if I want to tell everyone’, but you have to, I think that’s the thing.”
Many athletes at the Paris Games have companies and individuals that sponsor them personally, but sports like rowing have to compete for that money with more high-profile competitors in more glamorous events.
Funding from Rowing New Zealand covers Manson’s training costs, but he said that he needed to find other sources of income and the governing body has no problem with how he is doing so.
“I have a few friends that have supported me, but I don’t have any big personal sponsors or anything — the team obviously has their sponsors, but I’ve never had an issue with that or Rowing New Zealand,” he explained.
“I guess the people at Rowing New Zealand, the bosses if you like, they’re aware that this is making a huge financial impact and helping me get to where I want to go, and they understand that we’re not highly-funded as well. It’s great, I haven’t had any issues.”
Manson said he would encourage other athletes in a similar situation to explore the opportunities offered by paywalled content, especially of the more revealing variety.
“There is a market, I think, for everyone — you’ve got to already have some sort of an audience, and I guess a point of difference, and you’ve got to be willing to tell everyone if you want to do it,” he said.
“I wouldn’t say it’s for everyone, but I think I’ve just been very lucky to have the opportunity there, and make the most of it.”
The unceasing Transphobic Twitter Troupe led by J.K. Rowling and Elon Musk has spent the last two days targeting Olympic athlete and Algerian boxer Imane Khelif with transphobic remarks that are entirely inaccurate. The kicker? Khelif isn’t transgender.
In March 2024, Khelif told UNICEF that she’s been “able to overcome obstacles” despite starting her life “with nothing” — highlighting that her father, who worked as a welder in the Sahara desert, didn’t approve of boxing for girls. Thankfully, that dynamic has changed over time. “Both my parents come to support me,” Khelif explained. “They are my biggest fans.”
Why are people attacking Imane Khelif with transphobic remarks?
Transphobic celebrities and politicians are taking to social media to question Khelif’s gender and make the inaccurate claim that the Algerian boxer is a trans woman, which she is not.
According to a fact check from GLAAD and interACT, an organization that “empowers intersex youth and advance the rights of all people with innate variations in their physical sex characteristics,” there has been no indication of Khelif ever identifying as transgender or as intersex.
The transphobic, hateful claims from high-profile individuals are based on a statement from Umar Kremlev, the president of the International Boxing Association (IBA), who told Russian news agency Tass that Khelif “proved they had XY chromosomes and were thus excluded from the sports events,” as reported by The Guardian earlier this year.
The Washington Post subsequently reported that “it remains unclear what standards Khelif failed [in 2023] to lead to the disqualifications.” However, the discourse surrounding Khelif’s gender came back to the spotlight as she started competing at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
What happened between Angela Carini and Imane Khelif?
Italian boxer Angela Carini competed against Khelif in a boxing match at the 2024 Olympic Games. 46 seconds into the fight, however, Carini withdrew from the match and claimed that she was feeling an intense pain in her nose.
While Carini didn’t directly question Khelif’s gender, she told news outlets that it was “unfair” for her to compete with Khelif. The Italian boxer then noted that it was up to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to evaluate whether Khelif was eligible to compete in the women’s boxing tournament at the Olympics.
Carini’s withdrawal from the match and subsequent remarks opened up a flood of transphobic remarks targeted against Khelif.
What did Elon Musk say about Imane Khelif?
Elon Musk, who acquired Twitter in 2023 and re-branded it to X, posted the first viral attack on Khelif.
In the early hours of Thursday, August 1, the tech billionaire quote-shared an original post that read, “Men don’t belong in women’s sports. [I Stand With Angela Carini hashtag]. Let’s get it trending [fire emoji].” Musk quoted the post, writing, “Absolutely.”
A few hours later, Musk quote-shared an X post claiming that “Donald Trump will ban biological males from competing in women’s sports” to which Musk reacted with, “Good.”
What did J.K. Rowling say about Imane Khelif?
J.K. Rowling, the author of the Harry Potter book series and a producer on all the upcoming live-action adaptations of her novels being developed by Warner Bros Discovery (WBD), also shared X posts disseminating inaccurate claims that Khelif is a trans woman.
Rowling wrote:
“Could any picture sum up our new men’s rights movement better? The smirk of a male who’s [sic] knows he’s protected by a misogynist sporting establishment enjoying the distress of a woman he’s just punched in the head, and whose life’s ambition he’s just shattered. [Paris 2024 hashtag].”
Rowling then reacted to a post from X user @YourAnonNews. The original post wrote, “Imane Khelif should sue every single account and outlet saying she is trans. Assholes are putting her life at risk, it is illegal in her country to be trans. The continuance of the blatant trans lie continues unfettered on Twitter.”
Rowling quote-shared that original X post and wrote the following inaccurate statement:
“The idea that those objecting to a male punching a female in the name of sport are objecting because they believe Khelif to be ‘trans’ is a joke. We object because we saw a male punching a female.”
Chris Evert, who was considered the world’s no. 1 tennis player in the 1980s, also commented on this controversy by quote-sharing the picture of a piece of paper that read, “No Males in Women’s Boxing.” Evert wrote, “Why are we even questioning this?”
Rowling reacted to Evert’s X post with a response that read:
“Because we currently live in a world where too many institutions, even those whose decisions may put women at risk of injury or death, are too cowardly to challenge the ludicrous proposition that acknowledging the reality of biological sex is inherently bigoted.”
What did Logan Paul & Jake Paul say about Imane Khelif?
Brothers Logan Paul and Jake Paul, controversial YouTubers and social media influencers who recently launched their own boxing careers, also chimed in. Jake quote-shared a video of Khelif being deemed the winner of the match against Carini following the Italian boxer’s withdrawal, writing:
“This is sickening. This is a travesty. Doesn’t matter what you believe. This is wrong and dangerous.”
Jake then shared another X post that read:
“To Angela Carini, although your dreams couldn’t come true today because of the crazy agendas that are at play in our world at the moment, I would love to offer you to fight on an MVP undercard, to show the world your talents on a fair platform and not against a man.”
In a since-deleted X post, Logan wrote:
“This is the purest form of evil unfolding right before our eyes. A man was allowed to beat up a woman on a global stage, crushing her life’s dream while fighting for her deceased father. This delusion must end.”
A few hours later, Logan shared a new X post walking back his original statement regarding Khelif. He wrote:
“OOPSIES!! I might be guilty of spreading misinformation along with the entirety of this app. Although she’s been previously disqualified for failing a ‘gender test’ and has XY chromosomes, some sources say Imane Khelif was born a biological woman. I stand by my sentiment that biological men should not compete against biological women in any sport and if you disagree you’re a sick f*ck.”
Even though Logan Paul’s follow-up X post is still problematic, some X users are praising the fact that he, unlike his fellow peers, has shared a new statement regarding Khelif.
What did JD Vance say about Imane Khelif?
JD Vance, who joined Donald Trump’s ticket as a Republican vice presidential candidate in the 2024 election, also shared an X post about Khelif — and somehow tied this controversy to Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris. Vance wrote:
“This is where Kamala Harris’s ideas about gender lead: to a grown man pummeling a woman in a boxing match. This is disgusting, and all of our leaders should condemn it.”
What did Amy Broadhurst say about Imane Khelif?
Irish boxer Amy Broadhurst — an actual athlete who beat Khelif in a fight in 2022 — offered her perspective on the situation, writing:
“Have a lot of people texting me over Imane Khelif. Personally, I don’t think she has done anything to ‘cheat.’ I think it’s the way she was born and that’s out of her control. The fact that she has been [beaten] by 9 females before says it all.”
An X user replied to Broadhurst’s statement doubling down on the inaccurate claims that Khelif is a “biological male,” which is incorrect. The Irish boxer replied to that person with an X post claiming that Khelif “was born intersex,” which is also incorrect.
Broadhurst’s follow-up X statement read:
“She’s not biological. She was born intersex, and for all we know, she could have been brought up thinking all she was, was a female. Nobody knows the full truth.”
How did the International Olympic Committee (IOC) respond to this controversy involving Imane Khelif?
On Friday, August 2, a spokesperson for the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said in the organization’s daily press briefing:
“The Algerian boxer was born female, was registered female, lived her life as a female, boxed as a female, has a female passport. This is not a transgender case. There has been some confusion that somehow it’s a man fighting a woman. This is just not the case, scientifically. On that, there is consensus. Scientifically, this is not a man fighting a woman. I think we need to kind of get that out.”
Three French drag artists took the main stage ahead of the 2024 Paris Olympics, making history as some of the first in drag to carry an Olympic torch.
In posts to social media, Minima Gesté, Miss Martini and Nicky Doll all shared about the honor to represent their country and community on a global stage.
“As the flame passes through France, it announces the Olympic Games and spreads a message of peace and friendship between peoples,” wrote Nicky Doll, the host of Drag Race France, on Instagram.
“In a world that is deeply unstable at the moment, with all of us feeling completely hopeless about some awful things we watch happening before our eyes, it was important for me to use my platform and try to shed some light. Even though I usually prefer to act on things rather than hope for them: I would like to use this opportunity to hope for the immediate ceasefire in Rafah and for dignity to be brought back to Palestine and its people who tremendously suffered throughout these awful times and beyond,” she added.
Miss Martini, who performs predominantly in Marseille was proud to unite “citizens under the same values,” adding in a post that she was “Proud to have been chosen to represent the LGBTQIA+ community with my sisters, Minima Gesté and Nicky Doll.
Minima Gesté, who was the target of homophobic and transphobic harassment over her participation in the capital city’s leg of the relay, according to a report by them., fiercely carried the Olympic torch last week and thanked her community for the love and support she has received.
Calling the moment as a “unique and phenomenal opportunity,” Minima Gesté rounded out the trio of history-making drag artists to bear the Olympic torch to Paris with the Opening Ceremony taking place this Friday, July 26.
At least 193 out LGBTQ athletes will be in Paris for the 2024 Summer Games.
This surpasses the record-setting Tokyo Olympics, held in the summer of 2021, where there were at least 186 out competitors.
Brazilian gymnast Arthur Nory Mariano is one of at least 20 out male Olympians competing in the Paris Olympics. Jam Media / Getty Images file
This year, a record 20 male athletes participating in the summer Olympics are publicly out. Outsports co-founder Cyd Zeigler said equestrian, an Olympic sport with eight LGBTQ men participating, has “long been a leader in this space of out men.”
The vast majority of athletes on the list of queer Olympians, approximately 170, are women. Lesbians and other queer women represent more than half of at least two teams: the U.S. women’s basketball team, where seven of the 12 players are out, and the Australian women’s soccer team, where at least 12 of the 18 players are out.
Brittney Griner is one of seven out players on Team USA’s women’s basketball team. Barry Gossage / NBAE via Getty Images
However, in the world of men’s sports, where LGBTQ athletes in the past might have been uncomfortable coming out, more male athletes are realizing that their teammates are more accepting than they may have assumed.
“That’s the biggest thing that people are finally starting to see, that despite the nonsense that goes on in some men’s locker rooms, it doesn’t reflect an actual level of acceptance. The level of acceptance is higher than what they think,” he said.
Germany’s Timo Cavelius will be first out gay man to compete in Olympic judo, according to Outsports.David Finch / Getty Images file
Some of the highest profile queer athletes at this year’s Olympic Games include British diver Tom Daley, track star Sha’Carri Richardson and trans nonbinary runner Nikki Hiltz.
At the U.S. Olympic Trials last month, Hiltz punched their ticket to Paris, running the second fastest time ever of any American in the women’s 1,500-meter race.
“This is bigger than just me. … I wanted to run this one for my community,” they said. “All the LGBT folks, yeah, you guys brought me home that last hundred [meters]. I could just feel the love and support.”
Team USA’s Nikki Hiltz will be one of at least three nonbinary athletes competing in the Paris Olympics.Christian Petersen / Getty Images
Hiltz will be one of at least three nonbinary athletes participating in Paris, according to Zeigler. They’ll be joined by U.S. women’s rugby player Kris Thomas and Canadian soccer star Quinn, who helped Canada win a gold medal at the Tokyo Games and made history in the process as the first openly trans athlete to nab an Olympic medal.
Some people believe the ban on trans women participating in the women’s category for certain sports has an effect on the number of LGBTQ athletes at the Olympics, he said he does not believe that the bans are affecting the overall numbers.
However, the elimination of softball as an Olympic sport, a sport that had eight LGBTQ women at the Tokyo Games, for example, has had an effect on the numbers. Zeigler also pointed out that the Swedish women’s soccer team, which “surprisingly” didn’t qualify for Paris, had four LGBTQ players in Tokyo.
Women’s soccer, across all participating countries, is the queerest sport at the Olympics this year, with at least 46 out players. Spain’s team has six out athletes, Brazil’s team has eight and Australia’s roster has 12
Australian pro surfer Tyler Wright is a two-time world champion – but now she’s going for gold at the Olympics… although she won’t be anywhere near Paris.
This will be Wright’s first Games – amid what she calls a “sausage-fest” in the sport.
“As a young girl becoming a woman in surfing, 12 years ago, it was an era of ‘sex sells’,” she previously told The Sydney Morning Herald. “Sexy, straight, blonde, female” surfers were most coveted and she didn’t fit into those stereotypes.
“I’m built like an athlete, I’m not straight, I don’t have blonde hair. While men were allowed to go out and be athletes – and get paid for doing it – a lot of women weren’t. If you invest in women, you’ll see them excel.”
While she’s definitely going to the Olympics, she’ll be almost 10,000 miles from the French capital. Instead, she’s headed to Tahiti, the South Pacific archipelago in French Polynesia which is hosting the surfing events.
Wright comes from a family of surfers, including brother Owen who won a bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics.
Does Tyler Wright have a partner?
Wright identifies as bisexual and met her future wife, Lili Baker, in 2021.
“Lily is just a vibe,” Wright told The Sydney Morning Herald. “She was working in a cafe in Newcastle [in New South Wales] when I was in town for a contest. I felt so respected and appreciated [by her]. Eventually, I asked her out, she said yes and here we are.”
The pair have “an ease and openness” coupled with “love, respect and appreciation”.
Does Tyler Wright have a chronic illness?
Wright suffered from chronic fatigue syndrome in 2018, telling the media that she thought she was “gonna die”. She missed 14 months of surfing after winning world titles in 2016 and 2017.
She has also suffered from a respiratory issue because of narrow airways that left her struggling to breathe during competitions. She underwent a “life-changing” procedure to put “seven screws” in her head to improve her breathing.
“Through one of the specialists, we ended up finding that most of the time I’m under-oxygenated and I’m semi-suffocating all the time through my nose, and my airways are really small. I shouldn’t be able to do what I do, according to my brain scans and my anatomy. It’s really unusual that I am a professional surfer,” Wright told The Guardian earlier this year.
“I feel different going out and competing this season.”
She also once spent three days in hospital, suffering debilitating period pain.
Filipino trans boxer Hergie Bacyadan will make his Olympics debut at the Paris 2024 Games.
Five Filipino boxers – out of 15 total athletes – will be representing the Philippines in the French capital. Bacyadan will be competing in the women’s 75kg division, the heaviest weight class.
He is competing in the women’s division because he has not undergone hormone replacement therapy or gender reassignment therapy, despite identifying as a trans man.
In fact, Bacyadan has proudly claimed several times that he has never taken testosterone and even stood up to the Russian vovinam team in 2023 after they requested that his gold medal win be nullified because he was a “man”.
Bacyadan won the 2023 world championship in women’s vovinam, a Vietnamese martial art that combines elements of boxing, judo and wushu, a Chinese martial art.
“We will perform better to make a difference,” he said. “My biggest motivation is my family, my tribe in Kalinga, and the people who believe I can win a medal at the Paris Olympics.”
Is Hergie Bacyadan married?
Bacyadan married his long-term partner Lady Denily Digo in November 2022, tying the knot over Zoom and legally becoming married in the US state of Utah.
The couple first met on TikTok when Digo joined Bacyadan’s live stream on the platform. More recently, theypublicly supported the passage of legislationthat would protect Filipinos from discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
