"These are today's realities": American figure skater LeDuke will become the first non-binary athlete in the history of the Olympics

Timothy LeDuke and Ashley Kane-Gribble won the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in the pairing competition.

They seized the lead even after the short program, and in the free program they broke away from their pursuers and as a result beat the runners-up Jessica-Noel Kalalang / Brian Johnson by more than 15 points.

Success at the national championship allowed athletes to qualify for the Olympic Games for the first time in their careers.

However, this fact would not have caused a stir if the partner had not previously publicly announced their non-binary gender identity.

The 31-year-old is neither male nor female and will be the first such athlete in OI history.

It is worth noting that Leduc never concealed his orientation.

Back in 2019, they talked about him as the first open gay to win the US Championship.

The orientation also influenced the young man's sports career.

One of the girls refused to pair up with him, because she feared that this could negatively affect the performances.

But in the person of Kane-Gribble, he found an ideal partner in 2016.

Their duet initially looked out of the box.

Feminine, while wearing a Leduc beard, and too tall for pair skating (168 cm) Ashley, who was considered by many to be unsuitable for this species due to her height.

But the athletes quickly proved their combat effectiveness.

In 2019, for the first time, they unexpectedly won the national championship for the first time, and in 2022 they repeated their success.

Also, the Americans have two participation in the world championships.

Both in 2019 and in 2021, they are in a fairly high ninth place.

Thus, it is difficult to expect a couple to fight for medals in the individual OI tournament, but in the team tournament they are quite capable of helping the US team rise to the podium.

The American is not the first representative of gay figure skating to take part in the Olympics.

So, his compatriot Johnny Weir, who performed in single skating, twice went to the main sporting event of the four years.

True, the athlete made a public come-out after the Olympic Games in Vancouver.

And the Tokyo Games were notable for the performance of the first transgender woman in the history of the Olympic Games - weightlifter Laurel Hubbard.

Before the start of the competition, many feared that male hormones would give her a serious advantage over her rivals, but this did not happen.

The representative of New Zealand failed to complete any successful attempts.

"The arbitrators won't even look at his orientation"

In Russia, the news of the first athlete with a non-binary gender identity getting to the Olympic Games caused a different reaction. So, world champion Maria Butyrskaya, in an interview with RT, noted that Ledyuk's orientation, in principle, should not bother the public.

“As a former figure skater and no longer a young person, I find it strange to answer such questions.

Time goes by.

Everything changes, and similar "innovations" appear.

An American's sexual orientation is his own business.

Let's not poke around in this.

Even if he does not consider himself to be one of the sexes, he still remains a man and adequately acts in this role.

Therefore, Timothy should not be humiliated.

You need to be easier.

And even when I performed myself, the skaters did not think about the question of whether their rivals were straight or not.

First of all, everyone was thinking about their own rentals and problems, "Butyrskaya said.

The specialist admitted that it is much more interesting for her to discuss the upcoming Olympics and the performance of the Russians in Beijing.

“The story of Ledyuk is an ordinary trifle.

Nevertheless, it's probably good that he gave people a reason to discuss figure skating?

even from this side.

Our sport is already popular, but let it become even more interesting at the expense of the American, ”added Butyrskaya.

In turn, the Olympic champion of Sochi in pair skating Maxim Trankov called the athlete's hitting the Olympic Games "an absolutely normal story."

“I am calm and tolerant towards everyone.

Now he and Kane-Gribble have won the US Championship for the second time.

They also made it into the top ten twice at the planetary championship.

This is a good pair, but I can't call it a top pair either.

It will be extremely difficult for them to fight for medals in an individual tournament, unless, of course, the coronavirus pandemic intervenes in the distribution of awards with unexpected positive tests.

But in the team, they may well help the US national team to rise to the podium, "Trankov emphasized.

At the same time, the Olympic champion expressed confidence: Leduc's orientation will not affect his assessments in China in any way, and the judges will not have a desire to “support” the athlete for his courage.

“Timothy has been skating for at least four years and everyone is aware of his orientation.

The judges do not change either.

However, only for this they did not give him any higher points.

In any case, I have not seen this.

Believe me, this does not affect figure skating in any way.

It's just not the kind of sport where something like that can become a sensation, ”added Trankov.

Finally, according to Olympic ice dancing champion Natalia Bestemyanova, Leduc and Kane-Gribble won the US championship for a reason.

“He has every right not to identify himself with any of the sexes.

These are today's realities.

And this will not affect the programs and skating in any way, ”Bestemyanova said.

Like Trankov, she does not believe that the judges will help the American at the Olympic Games for his dissimilarity from his opponents.

“I don’t really understand how this is possible in principle.

Moreover, I am sure they will evaluate the performance of the American duo objectively and will not overestimate their partner's courage.

Believe me, the referees won't even look at his orientation, ”Bestemyanova summed up.