OUT at the Olympics
Meet the members of Team GB waving the rainbow f lag high this summer in Paris
BY ELLA GAUCI
right: Hockey player Sarah Jones.
Growing up, Sarah Jones didn’t see anyone who looked like her playing hockey on TV. In fact, she didn’t see any women playing hockey on TV at all, let alone LGBTQIA ones. As she entered her late teens, she soon loosened her grip on her trusty hockey stick and dropped the sport altogether. It wasn’t until she went to Loughborough University and watched its women’s team play that she was inspired to give it one last go.
This summer Sarah will compete with Team GB Hockey at the Paris Olympics. Sarah is just one of many openly LGBTQIA athletes who will be competing in this year’s sporting competition. Just a decade ago at the 2012 Olympics, there were only 23 out Olympians who took part in the Games. Fast forward to the Tokyo 2021 Olympics, and that number had increased eightfold.