Sport

USA-Canada Olympic women’s hockey final features record number of LGBTQ+ athletes

Feb 19
Written by Sophie Perry

Team USA and Team Canada will face off against each other in the women’s hockey final (Alexander NEMENOV / AFP via Getty Images)

The gold medal women’s hockey final between the United States and Canada at the 2026 Winter Olympics is set to feature a record number of out queer athletes.

The gold medal match between the two titans of the sport will take place on Thursday (19 February) and marks the seventh time, since women’s hockey was introduced to the Games in 1998, that the North American sides have faced each other in the final.

As first reported by LGBTQ+ sporting outlet Outsports, the match will feature a record number of out and proud LGBTQ+ athletes across both Team USA and Team Canada, with nine queer stars taking to the ice.

Across the entire Games, women’s ice hockey feature the most out LGBTQ+ competitors when compared with any other event, with at least 22 queer women having competed in hopes of taking home an Olympic medal.

More widely, the 2026 Winter Olympics has seen a record-breaking number of out LGBTQ+ athletes on the world’s biggest sporting stage, with at least 41 out athletes representing 13 countries across nine events.

These include athletes representing the UK, the US, Canada, Finland, Sweden, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, France, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, and the Czech Republic, with notable stars including France’s Guillaume Cizeron and the USA’s Amber Glenn.

The Beijing Winter Olympics in 2022 previously saw at least 36 out LGBTQ+ athletes compete, while the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics saw just 15 – showcasing the increasing queer visibility in winter sports.

Look out for these queer stars during the women’s hockey final: