LGBTQ+ Athletes Are Front and Center at the 2026 Winter Olympic Games

At the start of the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics, US figure skater Amber Glenn spoke at a press conference about using her platform as an Olympian to support LGBTQ+ rights. “It isn’t the first time we’ve had to come together as a community,” she said. “I hope that I can use my platform and my voice throughout these Games to try to encourage people to stay strong.”

A few days later, she posted an Instagram story saying she had received “a scary amount of hate/threats” following the comments on social media. “I’ve never had so many people wish me harm before, just for being me and speaking out about being decent,” she told NPR.

Glenn went on to win gold as part of the US figure skating team—and she still has several individual events upcoming—but the reaction to her comments demonstrates a real friction at the 2026 Games when it comes to celebrating queer athletes while also exposing them to ridicule.

Nearly 50 out LGBTQ+ athletes are competing at the Winter Games, according to OutSports. That figure may seem small compared to the 2,900 or so competitors, but compared to years past when every out athlete made headlines, it’s huge.

The increasing number of out queer athletes also comes at a time when the ability of trans people to participate in sports remains hotly contested. A year ago, US president Donald Trump signed an executive order banning trans athletes from women’s sports. Following that order, the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee banned trans women from competing in women’s sports. USA Hockey recently reversed its 2019 policy that allowed trans athletes to play, even in so-called “beer league” games.

“Protecting women’s categories is one of the key reforms that we will pursue,” Mark Adams, a spokesperson for International Olympic Committee president Kirsty Coventry, told a press conference on February 7.

On Tuesday, Swedish skier Elis Lundholm became the first openly trans athlete to compete in the Winter Games. Lundholm, who competes in the women’s category, was assigned female at birth and identifies as male. Lundholm told reporters he hasn’t thought about his historic moment much and is instead focused on his sport. UK skier Tess Johnson told the Associated Press that it’s “awesome” Lundholm was competing as the first trans athlete at the Winter Games. “I mean, we're here to ski, we're here to have fun, and that's exactly what we do,” she added.

This increased interest in LGBTQ+ athletes comes as Heated Rivalry, the wildly popular Canadian show about two closeted hockey players, is bringing troves of new fans to the sport. HBO Max released the show in Italy this month.

On the ground in Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo, queer athletes and fans are looking for the same acceptance. In Milan, they can find that at Pride House, a meeting and discussion space open to the entire city at the MEET Digital Culture Center. First organized at the 2010 Games in Vancouver, British Columbia, Pride House is intended to be a safe space for queer people coming from all over the world to watch the Games. Each day the center offers a place to watch competitions and participate in meetings, performances, and social events.

“Pride House was born as a safe place especially for athletes who come from countries where it is not easy to be out," says Alice Redaelli, president of CIG Arcigay Milano, which helped organize Pride House with several other queer organizations. “Sports is one of the worlds in which we still struggle to emerge as LGBTQIA+ people, where concepts such as gender and machismo dominate.”

Having more out athletes could help pave the way for more acceptance of queer competitors in future Games where local laws guarantee those freedoms. “In Sochi in 2014, for example, it was not possible to organize the Pride House because of Russia’s repressive policies,” Redaelli says.