More than 120 openly gay and nonbinary athletes will compete in the Tokyo Olympics, the 2020 Games the most inclusive in history, said Outsports, a website dedicated to LGBT issues and personalities in amateur and professional sports.
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The list published by the website includes 121 LGBTQ athletes – a significant increase from the 56 openly gay athletes that according to the website competed in the 2016 Rio Games, and the 23 who traveled to the out Olympians in the 2012 London Olympics.
Outsports' list includes athletes from at least 25 countries, who will compete in 26 different sports. The US team has the highest number of LGBTQ athletes in the Games with 30 gay athletes on the roster.
The website noted that no known gay Olympians would be representing Japan, which does not support LGBTQ rights as many western countries do. "Same-sex marriage has not been legalized, there is limited legal recognition for same-sex couples and few protections against discrimination in the workplace or in public," the report said.
While Japanese LGBTQ activists and athletes had hoped the Olympics, the charter of which bars "discrimination of any kind," would help prompt gat rights in the country, that has not been the case.
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