Rio 2016: Meet the Brazilian athletes who wear the shirt of LGBT pride

There was the wonderful Lea T. opening the works of our delegation and there are also gays, lesbians and bisexuals doing well at Rio 2016. According to the Outsports website, which maps publicly acknowledged Olympic LGBs (there are still no Ts competing), there are 49 athletes appearing currently on that list, including six Brazilians.

It seems a small number, compared to the 10,900 competitors participating in the Games this year, but this is a historic record. At the London Olympics (2012), only 23 athletes were on the list.

Could it be that there were fewer LGBs with high sports performance in the past? Probably not. The issue here is another: fear and shame of assuming sexual orientation. Even if the world is more tolerant, it’s still hard to face it, believe me! To give you an idea, a survey conducted by Ibope, in 2013, disclosed that a third of Brazilian LGBTs do not come out to their family and co-workers for fear of rejection. It’s a lot of people! And that’s why this new crop of athletes – like the wonderful Rafaela Silva – is so important. Representation makes the difference, yes!

Check out who are the Brazilians who are wearing the shirt of diversity:

Rafaela Silva – judo

“She was there on a daily basis and knew what I was going through, when I was tired, when I wasn’t. Everything I needed she was there to do, so she is also very important in this achievement”, said Rafaela about his girlfriend Thamara Cezar, in an interview with Globo Esporte. The two have been together for three years.

Larissa França – beach volleyball

Since 2013, Larissa (on the right in the photo) has been married to Liliane Maestrini, who is also a beach volleyball player.

Isadora Cerullo – rugby

Last Monday (8), Izzy was proposed to by girlfriend Marjorie Enya, who is a volunteer at the Games. The athlete was caught by surprise at the end of the women’s rugby awards ceremony. Without a doubt, this was one of the most exciting moments of the week in Rio!

Mayssa Pessoa – handball

The goalkeeper of our women’s handball team (on the left in the photo) is bisexual and is dating Canadian model Nikki Shumaker.

Julia Vasconcelos – taekwondo

The fighter, who competes in the up to 57kg category, is openly lesbian.

Ian Matos – diving

Ian came out publicly in 2014 and, at the time, revealed that the biggest challenge would be showing parents that there is nothing wrong with being gay. “We learned to be racist, homophobic and sexist. You can also unlearn it, people break down prejudices over time”, he said in an interview with Globo Esporte.