It’s Pride month, so let’s celebrate some of our LGBT skaters!
While skating is stereotyped as a ‘gay sport’ for men in the US and Canada, homophobia, transphobia, and a strong push for conformity to old-fashioned gender norms remain a huge problem. But despite the bullying and disgusting comments, and even the ravages of the AIDS pandemic, queer skaters have been out there making their mark on the sport for decades, and there have been more out skaters at the elite level than can fit in one gifset (or even several!). And of course, there are many more at the recreational and adult levels as well. The skaters featured here are:
Jason Brown (2019 Worlds SP) - Beloved by fans for his skating skills, graceful and complex programs, flexibility, and ray of sunshine personality, Brown is the 2015 US champion and has finished in the top 10 at two Olympics eight years apart. After competitions, he visits Ronald McDonald houses to personally share the toys thrown at him with the kids or make meals for families. Rumor has it that the Greensboro Coliseum had to be shut down for repairs after he skated there in 2014 because the crowd blew the roof off the building in their excitement for his Riverdance.
Fleur Maxwell (2006 Olympics SP) - A 3-time Luxembourg national champion, and the only competitor from Luxembourg in any sport at the 2006 Olympic games, Maxwell’s international senior career spanned more than a decade, even excluding the three years she retired in the middle. With flexibility, lovely arms, and fast spins, she was a beautiful skater to watch. She now runs a fitness business out of New York City. The asteroid 255019 Fleurmaxwell was named in her honor.
Axel Médéric (1988 Olympics FS) - Médéric was a French national champion and one of the earliest black skaters to go to the Olympics when he competed there in 1988. While he sometimes struggled with his jumps, commentators praised the quality of his transitional movements and his flow over the ice, and he was a lively performer. After he retired, he toured and performed for many years, doing shows and competing in pro tournaments.
Ondrej Nepela (1973 Worlds FS) - The 1972 Olympic champion, 3-time World champion, and 5-time European champion, Nepela became interested in skating as a child in when he watched a fellow Czechoslovakian win the men’s European title on the television. While not the most artistically inclined, he was known for his precision and working very hard at practice. After retirement, he performed in shows and coached a student to become European champion in her own right. He died in 1989 due to complications of AIDS; the Ondrej Nepela Memorial competition is named in honor of him.
Kaitlyn Weaver (On Ice Perspectives solo) - With her partner Andrew Poje, she won three world medals and two GPF championships in ice dance. The team were known for their emotional skating and interesting, innovative programs. She came out in June 2021 and openly discussed how she was afraid that coming out while competing would hurt her and Poje’s scores. Since then, she has been one of several skaters consulted by the ISU on how to make skating more inclusive and is on Skate Canada’s working group for equality and inclusion.
Rachel Parsons (2017 GP Russia FD) - In the 2016-2017 season, Parsons, along with her brother, was the National, GPF, and World champion at the junior level in ice dance. As a team, they brought interesting positions and sense of ease to their skating. She retired in 2019 due to an eating disorder, which she recently said she has made a lot of progress in recovering from, and came out as bisexual a few months later.
Javier Raya (2016 Worlds SP) - Raya was the 2011 Spanish champion and a six-time national silver medalist. While he was still competing, he had a chance to work in media for summer sports and also did commentary for figure skating events. Raya came out as gay in 2016, and in June 2020, he started the Skate Proud project to share interviews with out and ally skaters. He is now working at the IOC with the mission of promoting inclusion and diversity.
Christoper Caluza (2021 Finlandia Trophy FS) - The 3-time Philippines national champion, Caluza first began with roller skating, before discovering ice skating when his local roller rink closed; he developed a graceful and emotional style. After the 2013-2014 season, he took a break from competitive skating for several years to do professional shows, including on cruise ships. He decided to return to competition when he learned that the Philippines would be hosting the South-East Asian Games, where he ended up winning the silver medal, before he retired again in 2022.
Timothy LeDuc (2022 USNats SP) - Two-time National champion and a 4CC silver medalist with their partner Ashley Cain, LeDuc was the first elite figure skater to come out as non-binary, as well as the first out non-binary athlete to compete at the Winter Olympics. Their programs emphasized the pair’s wonderful lines and synchronization, and LeDuc was open about wanting to portray a sense of equality between partners rather than the traditional ‘stem (man) and flower (women)’ image of pairs.
