Quinn Is the First Out Trans Olympic Athlete to Win a Gold Medal

In a historic moment, Team Canada won the gold medal in women's soccer at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo today, defeating Team Sweden 3-2 on penalty kicks. It was the first Olympic gold for the Canadian women, but 25-year-old star Quinn also became the first out trans athlete to win an Olympic medal with the victory.

Quinn came out in a post to Instagram last September. Describing the process as "HARD (and kinda bs)," they revealed to the public that they are trans. Quinn said they had been living openly with the people they loved most for many years. They went on to provide a primer for cis folks "to be better allies," starting with pronouns.

Initially, there had been some concern that Quinn would not be allowed to join Team Canada and compete for the gold. At the time they came out, the International Olympic Committee had not yet established guidelines for the inclusion of trans and nonbinary athletes, but resolved the issues in time for Quinn to compete and win.

Quinn also made history this year as the first out trans athlete to compete in the Olympics, and said they had mixed feelings about the honor.

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

This was the first Olympic gold for Team Canada's women's soccer team after winning bronze in the previous two Olympics. And they had to go to extra kicks to defeat Team Sweden, winning in dramatic fashion on kicks from Deanne Rose and Julia Grosso.

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