Timothy LeDuc is making Olympic history: The figure skater is the first openly non-binary winter athlete
To your 31 years Timothy LeDuc, originally from Iowa, fight to get a gold medal in Beijing 2022. The Duke identifies with the pronouns «they" and "them'('elle» in Spanish) and is making Olympic history. She will compete alongside his sports partner, the 26-year-old figure skater Ashley Cain Gribble, and will represent United States thanks to the fact that they dazzled in the Olympic qualifiers in the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee.
After qualifying for the Olympics, The Duke He issued a statement in which he made it very clear what he hopes his participation in these games will mean for the world of sports: «My hope is that when people see my story, they don't focus on me and say, 'Oh, Timothy is the first non-binary person to achieve this level of success in sports,'" the athlete confessed. “My hope is that queer people can be open and successful in sports. We have always been here, we have always been part of the sport. We just haven't always been able to say it openly«.
despite his will, The Duke es has made history by becoming the first openly gay athlete to win gold in a pairs figure skating event in 2019. United States and for being the first non-binary athlete to win an American championship in any sport.
Coming out of the closet twice
For The Duke Telling his parents (Evangelical Christians) that he was gay was very complicated, since, as he has said in more than one interview, he «they made believe it was an abomination«. Despite this, at the age of 18 she dared to take this step and his parents replied: «We love you, but we have to change you. We have to solve this problem«. They tried to change Timothy and several members of the Church came from his house to perform an exorcism to try to "cast out your demons«.
Ten years later, his second exit from the closet took place. In 2018, when she was 28 years old, she again had a complicated conversation with his parents and told them that he identified himself as a person of non-binary gender. In 2021 she made her true gender identity public.
