Tokyo: Canadian soccer player Quinn scripted history, becoming the first out transgender athlete to win an Olympic medal. Quinn won gold in Tokyo with their fellow teammates after beating Sweden 3-2 in a penalty shootout.
The team battled from a 1-0 deficit during the game only to tie and later win it all in penalty kicks.
Quinn, who plays for OL Reign in the National Women’s Soccer League, came out last September. They reflected on making their first appearance as an openly trans person during the team’s opening Olympics match against host Japan last month.
Even before the game, Quinn’s appearance in the Tokyo Olympics was historic. They, along with New Zealand weightlifter Laurel Hubbard and American skateboarder Alana Smith, were the first openly transgender and nonbinary athletes to compete in the Olympics. Quinn and Smith were the first nonbinary athletes to partake in the Games. Hubbard was the first openly transgender woman to participate. Chelsea Wolfe is a transgender woman who qualified as an alternate for the United States’ BMX freestyle team in Tokyo, but did not compete.
