Olympic Soccer Player Quinn Becomes First Trans Athlete to Medal

Canadian soccer star Quinn made history, becoming the first out transgender athlete to win an Olympic medal. Quinn won gold in Tokyo with their fellow teammates after beating Sweden 3-2 in a penalty shootout.

Quinn, 25, is a midfielder for the women's Canadian soccer team. They came out on social media last year revealing their pronouns to be they/them and going only by Quinn. Since then, they've been open about being a visible trans person in sports.

"Athletics is the most exciting part of my life and it brings me the most joy," Quinn told CBC Sports. "If I can allow kids to play the sports they love, that's my legacy and that's what I'm here for."

They made history earlier in the Tokyo Games as the first trans person to compete in the Olympics.

"I feel proud seeing 'Quinn' up on the lineup and on my accreditation," Quinn posted to Instagram. "I feel sad knowing there were Olympians before me unable to live their truth because of the world."

Quinn also mentioned the discrimination against trans women in sports in the post. "The fight isn't close to over... and I'll celebrate when we're all here," they wrote.

They played soccer for Duke University in North Carolina, before being the highest-drafted Canadian in National Women's Soccer League when they were chosen third in the draft by the Washington Spirit in 2018. Quinn currently plays for OL Reign. They won the bronze medal with Canada during the Rio Games in 2016.

The soccer player came out as trans last year because they were "tired of being misgendered" they told Canadian media, according to the CBC. They also wanted to be "visible" for younger trans and nonbinary people who may be "questioning their gender, exploring their gender."

In their coming-out post, Quinn said that they had been living openly trans for years.

"I want to be visible to queer folks who don't see people like them on their feed. I know it saved my life years ago," they wrote at the time.