How did the gay athletes fare at the London 2012 games?
August 13 2012 2:06 PM EST
November 17 2015 5:28 AM EST
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The torch flame is extinguished, and London enters a post-Olympics hangover of sorts. But during the games, at least 23 out athletes and coaches competed this year, with 10 individuals earning medals in their respective sports. As Cyd Zeigler points out, Team LGBT won as many medals as Mexico, Ethiopia, and Georgia, and won more than such countries as Argentina and Jamaica. The official medal count for Team LGBT is four gold, one silver, and two bronze, including a few team efforts.
This how it all shook out (with names of LGBT athletes in bold):
ArcherySouth African archer Karen Hultzer was eliminated from play in the first round by Pia Lionetti of Italy.
Seimone Augustus and the U.S. women's basketball team won their fifth straight Olympic title, beating France 86-50. Teammate Candace Parker dominated with 21 points and 11 rebounds. The game was their 41st straight victory in Olympic competition, dating back to the 1992 games in Barcelona.
Australians Natalie Cook (right) and Tamsin Hinchley were the first to face the gold medal-winning U.S. The team did not advance past the preliminary tournament, prompting Cook, who is out, to announce her retirement from the sport.
German cyclist Judith Arndt was the first out lesbian to win a medal in this, her fifth Olympic games since 1996, when she won a silver medal for the individual time trial. Arndt's German team member Ina Teutenberg was edged out by .25 seconds to place fourth in the women's road race. Together in the women's team pursuit (above, led by Arndt), Germany placed eighth.
Australian diver Matthew Mitchamsaid he would dive naked if he successfully defended the gold medal he won in Beijing during the 10-meter platform dive. Unfortunately, he may have known it wouldn't happen. He placed 13th. Shortly after being edged out of the final, he tweeted, "Ah nuts, missed the finals by #theskinofabeespenis."
Great Britain's dressage team, which includes out ider Carl Hester (above) won gold Tuesday, while Team USA, featuring Ann Romney's horse, Rafalca, placed sixth. Tuesday's win earned Hester, 45, his first Olympic medal. Meanwhile, the German team won the silver medal, and the Dutch team, featuring out rider Edward Gal, took the bronze.
German fencer Imke Dupliztzer was edged out of competition in the second round of individual play, but she and the German team will face China in the women's team epee this Saturday. In the team competition, Germany was edged out by China, who went on to win the gold medal.
The Netherlands' hockey team took home the gold after a 2-0 win against Argentina. A quarter of Dutch women's field hockey team happen to be lesbians (Marilyn Agliotti, Kim Lammers, Maartje Paumen, and Carlien Dirkseke van den Heuvel), making them the most out team at the Olympics. Both Paumen and van den Heuvel scored in the final game.
Neither French handball player Alexandra Lacrabere (above), Mayssa Pessoa of Brazil, nor Rikke Skov of Denmark advanced past the semifinal rounds in the handball competition.
In their fifth Olympic games final, Team USA beat Japan in a rematch of last year's World Championship, where Japan prevailed over the Americans in the last few moments of the game. Out player Megan Rapinoe, along with Carli Lloyd, Abby Wambach, and Alex Morgan, were among the top scorers in the women's competition. Out coach Pia Sundhage said, "They found a way to win. Phenomenal, because that is not easy. They played with a huge heart and they changed the tactics and little bit. Wonderful."
The Swedish team, with out players Jessica Landstrom and Hedvig Lindahl, lost to France in the first round of tournament play. The bronze medal-winning Canadian team beat Great Britain, headed by out coach Hope Powell.
Lisa Raymond and her mixed doubles partner Michael Bryan beat German duo Christopher Kas and Sabine Lisicki to win the bronze medal. Fellow Americans Venus and Serena Williams won the gold medals in women's doubles, while Raymond and her teammate Liezel Huber lost the bronze to Maria Kirilenko and Nadia Petrova of Russia.
French triathlete Carole Peon (right) finished 29th out of 55. In the 2011 photo above, Peon gets some love from American triathlete Laura Bennett, who finished 17th at the Olympics.
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