'It's powerful to be out': Canadian Olympic couple reflects on LGBTQ representation in sport

For decades, athletes from around the world have gathered at the Olympics and Paralympics to compete in the largest sporting event, a celebration of athletic achievement laced with messaging around hope, inspiration and inclusion. 

But it hasn’t always been safe or acceptable to be LGBTQ and to compete. Instead, hiding parts of oneself was part of the game.  

Take, for instance, the story of Canada’s Mark Tewksbury, who won a gold medal in swimming in Barcelona in 1992. It wasn’t until six year later that