Canada’s midfielder Quinn warms up before the final Tokyo 2020 women’s soccer match between Sweden and Canada on August 6, 2021. Tiziana Fabi / AFP via Getty Images
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Tiziana Fabi / AFP via Getty Images
Canada’s midfielder Quinn warms up before the final women’s soccer game at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics between Sweden and Canada on Aug. 6, 2021.
Tiziana Fabi / AFP via Getty Images
Canadian soccer player Quinn has just made Olympic history.
The Canadian women’s soccer team took the gold home with them on Friday, defeated Sweden and secured first place for the first time in their Olympic history. The winner of the final was determined by penalty, another Olympic premiere for women’s football. And after that victory, Quinn, a midfielder for Canada, also achieved something monumental: You became the first open transgender and non-binary athlete ever to win not only gold but a medal at the Olympics.
It’s the latest move for Quinn, who also had the honor of being one of the first openly transsexual athletes to compete in the Olympics. (While they helped Canada bring home bronze at the 2016 Rio Games, they only appeared trans and non-binary last year.)
But as much as it is an accomplishment for Quinn to break through these barriers, it is also bittersweet, aS. noticed her on Instagram late last month.
“I’m proud to see ‘Quinn’ on the lineup and on my accreditation,” they said. “I am sad to know that there were Olympians before me who were unable to live their truth because of the world. I am optimistic about changes. Changes in legislation. Changes in rules, structures and mindsets.”
“Most of the time I am aware of the realities. Trans girls are excluded from sports. Trans women face discrimination and bias while trying to achieve their Olympic dreams, ”they continued. “The fight is far from over … and I’ll be celebrating when we’re all here.”
Hopefully this change is well on its way. In terms of LGBTQ representation, the 2020 Games have broken new ground. Non-binary skateboarder Alana Smith competed for America during the Games. The BMX category was represented by rider Chelsea Wolfe, who also competed for America. And Laurel Hubbard, a New Zealand weightlifter, became the first transgender woman to enter an individual competition.
Although Hubbard may have left the Games empty-handed and reportedly retiring, the impact she and other trans- and non-binary athletes like Quinn has made this year will no doubt be felt for years to come.
“All I ever wanted to be is myself,” she said on NBC New York. “I’m just so grateful that I had the opportunity to come here and be myself.”
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