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Sochi report card: How did our gay Olympians do?

The Winter Olympics have come and gone. Stray dogs have been adopted. Memes have been born. And Sochi bear has shed his last tears. But before we bid adieu to one of the most bizarre Olympics in history, let’s check in one more time to see how the six brave out Olympians fared. Ireen Wüst, Dutch speed skater Ireen Wust was definitely the most talked about out athlete at the Winter Games this year, not only because she won five speed skating medals (two gold and three silver), but also because she told a newspaper in the Netherlands that she “got a cuddle” from Vladimir Putin himself. Even Jon Stewart weighed in on the weirdness. In the end, Wust’s five Sochi medals added to her two Turin medals added to her Vancouver medal made her the most decorated Dutch Olympic athlete in history. Sanne van Kerkhof, Dutch speed skater Sanne van Kerkhof didn’t bring home any medals for the Netherlands this year, but she did seem to have a great time in Russia with her teammates and family. Belle Brockhoff, Australian snowboarder Before heading to Sochi, Brockhoff came out on a national news program in Russia and while she said before the Games that her main focus was going to be on the competition, she became quite outspoken on behalf of the LGBTQ community once she arrived in Russia. After placing a very respectable 8th in the snowboard cross event, Brockhoff, an Athlete Ally ambassador, penned a HuffPo oped about how furious she was about Russia’s anti-gay laws, met with a few gay people in Russia, and maintained an active presence on Twitter, calling for equality. Anastasia Bucsis, Canadian speed skater Bucsis placed 29th in the Speed Skating Ladies’ 500m, but that didn’t stop her from having a grand time in Sochi with her teammates. She called the games “the thrill of her life.” And of course they were: It was an awesome time to be Canadian! Daniela Iraschko-Stolz, Austrian ski Jumper Iraschko-Stolz was the only openly queer Olympian to medal besides Ireen Wust. She took home the silver in Ladies Normal Hill Individual, coming in only 1.2 meters behind German gold medalist Carina Vogt. Barbara Jezersek, Slovenian cross country skier Jezersek competed in four cross country skating events; her personal best Olympics performance in Sochi was an 11th place finish in the ladies relay. But I’m telling you right now that she’ll be the Olympian you most want to follow after the Games. Even during the Olympics she managed to keep up her Lost Girl fangirling (yes, that’s Anna Silk on her Twitter header) and she often retweets photos of puppies. Cheryl Maas, Dutch snowboarder Maas finished 8th and 11th in the qualifying rounds of the Ladies’ Slopestyle. After the competition, she posted on her Facebook wall:

Olympics are over for me. I’m bummed I could not show me full potential. I would like to thank everybody that helped me and support me. And my fans for cheering me on. I had a great experience. Now it’s time to have some fun!
Her daughter and wife were with her at the Games and all three of them seemed to have a good time, judging by all that free McDonald’s they got to eat. She also participated in a really rad documentary series.

What did you think of the Sochi Games?

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