Honored Coach of the Russian Federation Tatyana Tarasova spoke about the first non-binary athlete in the history of the Olympic Games, figure skater Timothy Leduc. Her words are quoted by RBC Sport.
“People are different, he is a man and was born that way. Such people want to show that they also have the right to engage in Olympism. We should not be against it,” Tarasova said. She noted that one person will not become a threat to the Olympic movement. “I believe that every person born on earth has the right to do what he wants,” the specialist emphasized.
On January 13, the US Figure Skating Federation supported Leduc. The federation emphasized that they condemn the incitement of hatred towards any member of the American team.
On January 12, Canadian figure skater Megan Duhamel demanded that the International Skating Union (ISU) punish Russian coach Alexander Zhulin, who called figure skater Leduc a freak. Zhulin said he would not apologize for his words.
On January 10, the American figure skating team announced their roster for the 2022 Olympics. The list included Leduc, who identifies himself as a gender that falls out of the binary system. He announced his non-binary gender identity last year. Leduc paired with Ashley Kane-Gribble in January this year won the US Championship.
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