Six out athletes to compete at Sochi Games

Canadian speed skater Anastasia Bucsis is among them

There will be only six openly LGBT athletes at the Sochi Olympics, out of about 2,500 athletes, Outsports reports.

That’s the same number that attended the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver. All six are women, and one is Canadian: speed skater Anastasia Bucsis. The other five out athletes are Dutch speed skaters Ireen Wüst and Sanne van Kerkhof, Dutch snowboarder Cherly Maas, Slovenian cross country skier Barbara Jezeršek, and Australian snowboarder Belle Brockhoff.

There would have been one openly gay man at the Olympics, but New Zealand speedskater Blake Skjellerup missed qualifying by one spot. Figure skater Johnny Weir, who came out as gay after the Vancouver Olympics, retired from competition last year.

Niko Bell

Niko Bell is a writer, editor and translator from Vancouver. He writes about sexual health, science, food and language.

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