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Lesbian/Bi Women Medal at the 2008 OlympicsSoftball
For the first time since 2000, the U.S. softball team lost the gold at the Olympic games, when they were beaten by Japan 3-1 in the finals last week. The silver medalists include out lesbian catcher and infielder Lauren Lappin and openly bisexual infielder Vicky Galindo, both of whom came out in an interview with The Advocate earlier this month. Lappin credits Galindo — who says she has been in serious relationships with both men and women — for inspiring her to come out. "[Galindo] seemed very comfortable with her sexuality," Lappin told The Advocate, "which really inspired me to be less guarded and to share with my teammates things that I wouldn't hesitate to share if I was straight." In response to the news, U.S. shortstop Natasha Watley told The O.C. Register, "This team is very accepting. We don't care if you're purple, green, from another planet. We just don't care. It's who you are. It's no big deal." She joked, "if Lauren went into a hitting slump, then we'd have a problem." Lappin did not score in the final game (Crystal Bustos scored the only run for the U.S., with a home run in the fourth inning). Although the U.S. team made a good showing in the final, they were undone by outstanding pitching from Japan's Yukiko Ueno, and excellent fielding by the Japanese team all around (twice, the American team loaded the bases but failed to score). Pinch hitter Vicky Galindo led off with a single in the final inning, but never made it past first base. Galindo (center) and teammates line up before the final game Lappin (second from L) and Galindo (second from R) cheer on a teammate Lappin (bottom, second from R) and teammates cheer Bustos's home run Lappin and teammates in the dugout The stunned Americans were devastated at the loss, but rallied for the silver medal ceremony. The U.S. team is awarded the silver medal Softball was recently eliminated from future Olympics, in part because it is widely believed that the U.S. has come to dominate the sport too much. The U.S.'s unexpected loss to Japan may ultimately help get the sport reinstated. “If this can be an aid to get us back in the Games, then so be it,” U.S. coach Mike Candrea told the Associated Press. “I think this game is very good right now.” |
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News, Reviews & Commentary on Lesbian and Bisexual women in Entertainment and the Media
Congrats
Congratulations to all the medal winners at the Olympics, well done!!!!
Congratulations to Norway!!!!
And most of all congratulations to Gro Hammerseng. A true champion, even when it comes to celebrating:
The Norwegian national team truly deserves these gold medals, couldn't happen to a nicer group of girls! Brilliant athletes, lovely people and fighters...just what the Olympics is all about. Not to forget, this way the title stays in Scandinavia AS IT SHOULD!!! ;-)
And just a small edit: Gro Hammerseng and Katja Nyberg came out as a couple back in 2005. This interview dates back to December that year: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JI4pWPWqY0Q
Thanks for the correction!
I've been doing so much research about these athletes tonight that my head is swimming (especially since a lot of the research is in languages I don't speak :), and I knew I'd screw up at least a few details somewhere. Thanks for letting me know about this one - other readers, please feel free to let me know if I made any other errors and I'll correct them ASAP. Thanks!
Anytime
Anytime it's only minor stuff....but if you want another correction ;-) Norway won the European Championship in 2006, not the World Championship - that's not going to happen until next year!!!
And since I'm posting anyways why not add a happy birthday to Katja Nyberg today.
Birthday, Olympic gold, together with Gro Hammerseng - guessing it will be quite a day for her!
Thanks for all the hard work you do Sarah!
Got it - thanks!
thanks
Great rundown. Thanks.
tidbit: In her diploma thesis (written in 1980), Tina Theune-Meyer, the ex-coach of the German soccer national team, estimated that 20 to 40 % of female footballers (soccer players) are gay. (Various trustworthy sources on the internet.) On the national team the percentage was about 60 to 70 percent, she said (recently, I think) according to Der Spiegel (a German weekly political magazine).
Statistical anomaly?
Judging from those photos, if you have a lesbian or bi woman on your team and you wear a predominantly red and white kit, you're likley to win a medal. Pie chart, anyone?
And seriously. Mitchem is the only out man at the games? That's ridiculous. Hopefuly he'll have encouraged some others to follow him out of the closet. He's being treated back here in Australia like a massive hero (diving isn't exactly one of "our" sports). And one of the more blokey sports commentators was quite gushing in his praise of him the other night for being public about his sexuality. We might not have full equality for the gays in Australia, but boy do we worship our medalists. You couldn't underestimate how important it is for the lgbt profile here to have an out gold medalist...
Thanks AE for the Olympics coverage. This sports nut learned to love a whole new Olympic sport thanks to a certain 10,800 post forum. And to think. At school, handball was something you played against a wall at lunchtime with a tennis ball.
I hope AE covers the Out Games in Copenhagen next year. (And does anyone know if the handballing heroines are like to be there???)
Not Only But Also
Thanks for all the reports
Thanks for all the reports on the Olympics and "our" awesome athletes!
Yesterday was such a perfect day with Norway winning Gold. I had goose-bumps all day, couldn't help but jump around the house all the time and I just can't stop grinning. I am so damn proud of them (in aspects of both athletic achievements and coming out).
@AE: Do you think an interview with Katja and Gro would be possible? I'd totally love that.
Interview with Gro and Katja
We'd love to interview them for the site! Someone wrote to me a few months ago and offered to try and arrange an interview with Gro and/or Katja, but the PM is lost my inbox (with all the PMs and emails I get every day, I'm so far behind it feels like I'll never catch up! :)
Anyway, if any of our international readers who speaks Norwegian and English can help us get in touch with their publicist or manager, please send me a private message. Thanks!
Re: Interview with Gro and Katja
The Norwegian Team
Re: The Norwegian Team
You might be right that they won't talk about their private lives but I guess AE might have other questions to ask than "How did you find out you're gay?" and "Who's the man?". ;) Like you said people here are quite interested in them so I guess they could as well talk about flowers and what they had to eat today and we would still read it.
But I agree, a report about the Norwegian team would be great :) They are just a big bunch of really cool women. And probably the only team with so many fans all over the world.
To my knowledge there are
To my knowledge there are at least two more players in the german soccer team, who are openly gay/bi... Renate Lingor (dating danish soccer player who is also in the national team), Sandra Smisek and Nadine Angerer... Linda Bresonik is now dating a man, which is sad... because she's so sexy!!!
I watch the olympics and to me it was a huge disappointment to see the germans lose over brasil 4:1 when they just a year ago won the world cup against the same team (2:0)...
Publicly out?
Thanks for the tips, Nero18, but can you point me towards any interviews or other public statements made about these women regarding their sexuality? I don't speak German, unfortunately, so I'd need someone to translate for me ... I know Malinda looked into all the tips we got from readers about openly gay Olympic athletes, and she found that most were not actually out (they were just generally perceived to be gay by fans, which isn't quite the same thing).
I am trying to find that
I am trying to find that article (From the german soccer association called DFB) about Renate Lingor, again. I read it earlier this year. She was saying that she is dating a women of the national team of denmark... I forgotten that girls name... Inka Grings was also out by the press (That's the infamous love triangle of Bresonik-Grings-Fach)
About Sandra Smisek, I don't think she ever mentioned that she is gay... So that's just hearsay... I'm trying to find that Lingor-article again.
RE: Nero18
Linda Bresonik is dating a man ?? since when ??
oh this is really sad .....
You didn't know that? There
You didn't know that? There was a huge hype about it in 2003-2005. Linda Bresonik was dating Inka Grings for five years (back then she was 19... So she was dating her since the age of 14-15) after Linda got injured in an international game, she initially flew back home. The DFB (german soccer association) got mad at her, leaving so they fired her from the national team. Her mom died from cancer around that time. And Inka Grings broke up with her to pursue a relationship with men's soccer coach Holger Fach (FC Augsburg) - just so you know Linda is 23 now, and he is 46. That relationship went downhill pretty fast. Then Linda and Holger started dating. Since then Linda and Inka HATE each other... Inka wasn't even nominated into the national team, again because the DFB was afraid that they would start a fight or something.
Just so you can get an image of the debacle:
Inka Grings (in the middle)
http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f247/KeNe18/101733713_cb4fefe160.jpg
Linda Bresonik
http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f247/KeNe18/DSCF3315.jpg
and now the cause of all this drama, Holger Fach
http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f247/KeNe18/Holger_Fach1-1.jpg
Isn't he yummy?!? What's wrong with women these days?
I heard from this chaos,
I heard from this chaos, but i thought Linda also broke up with this guy, so they're still togehter ?
I really can't understand why Inka left Linda, who is super hot for this unacttractive guy ???
I know! I was like: "What
Soccer correction
Sorry Sarah but Natasha Kai scored the overtime goal against Canada in the quarter-final. USA won against Japan in the semi-final.
Great article! Great Games too!
i was about to mention this
I'd go with Nadine Angerer
I'm not quite sure about Renate Lingor and Sandra Smisek (in referring to Nero18), but I can approve on Nadine Angerer.
She never had a interview on a magazine or an official oral coming out, but she neither denied any of the rumors. Especially in 2007, after Germany won the world championship in China, she was seen in the lesbian bar "Möbel Olfe", right after she landed back in Berlin, to celebrate the championship with friends. (I sadly don't remeber the newspaper, where this was published in, but I remember buying and reading it *g*)
First of all a big thanks
First of all a big thanks to Sarah for this wrap-up.
Second, I'd also like the German soccer players to be out, but being seen in a lesbian bar or environment doesn't qualify as being openly out. Well, in fact, does it mean anything? I saw Alice Schwarzer's mom at a lesbian disco ages ago (LFT Cologne), go figure.
I tried to find to some facts about the lesbians on the German soccer team. But, sadly, the only thing I came up with where statements like "that's a private issue and should stay private" when being asked about the lesbians on their team.
Nadine Angerer said in an interview in winter 2007 (after the World Cup), that she has no idea what would happen if one of the team was going to come-out.
http://www.tagesspiegel.de/zeitung/Sonntag;art2566,2443791
Hopefully this will have changed until 2011 (Women's Soccer World Cup in Germany)
Right. But...
Yeah, I know. This whole "lesbian or not" in German soccer is difficult. And overrated. I read that article from the Tagesspiegel too, as I did my research about Nadine Angerer. And yes, I read that and I also read other stuff. But as long as nobody takes a breath and say the things out loud, there will always be only tiny clues. I just hope, that anyone at anytime finds the strengh to come out an stay out and be proud of this step. It would help so much.
one has to start
Yay!
I so want a Norvegian t-shirt... do you girls know where I can buy it?
-Livia
Yay for Norway I still
Yay for Norway I still don't understand the rules, they are running with the ball just attacking there is no build up for the attack and sometimes all of sudden a penalty is given or the ball is given to the opposite team, I'm confused. But I like the keeper of Norway so surely thats a good reason to watch. Yay for everyone else but did the USA really have to take gold in football? oh well
I like the handball keeper
All that's left ...
I have never watched so much sport or so many Olympic events in my life and I have enjoyed every moment. I had hoped Matthew would do well at this Olympics. I lost my breath watching his last dive and knew it would score high and provide Australia with an unexpected gold medal. Well done, Matthew! Thanks to AE for the stories that prompted so much discussion and … devoted outpouring of love of individual sport and/or heroes.
The win that touched me the most at this Olympics was Matthias Steiner of Germany:
All that is left is to watch the closing ceremony :)
All That's Left
London 2012
I'm already looking forward to the games in London in four years! The british part of the closing ceremony was just so different, humorous and non-conformistic - it was really refreshing after all the mass performances of the chinese. I'll admit, it was beautiful and impressive to watch, but still a little disturbing.
I also think, Matthias Steiners story is really touching. I saw an interview with him, were he said, after the traffic accident death of his wife he could do nothing but train in order not to lose his mind.
I also liked the belgian high jumper Tia Hellebaut, who was not considered to have a chance and then won against the favourised croatian girl. (And she's really cute looking with her glasses).
Unfortunately, womens handball was not really covered in german TV after the german team dropped out. They had a short summary of the final yesterday but that's all. Annoyingly enough, the men's handball final today was shown in full length, even though the germans also dropped out before quarter finals.
You know why I also look forward to games in Europe again? I'll be able to actually watch! This time all I could do was checking live-ticker all the time during work...
13 out lesbians?
Hm there are probably more out lesbians that we just don't know of.And even more lesbians, that just aren't out publicly. Too bad :)
Come Out lesbians, wherever you are!!!! ;-)
German Soccer
The German soccer players have forever been rumored to be gay..to be straight seems to be more of an exception..but they do have a strict policy about not coming out...which is ridiculous..considering, that in your day to day life..if you wanna go see some dykes..you go to a women's soccer game..
"Möbel Olfe" , by the way, is not a Lesbian Bar..it's one of those very in style, run down alternative places, which do draw a fairly large gay crowd..but also lots of straights...
Speaking of stereotypes...what about the US Basketball Team?
;-)
"Have fun!"
"Don't have too much fun!!You'll end with one of those sexy transmission diseases!!"
out of "Kick"
They do not have that
They do not have that policy to NOT come out... Theo Zwanziger even encouraged them to do so, since it's the 21st century. They just don't want to be so open about their personal lives. Some girls even take their girlfriends with them to games.
That policy was started in 1970, back when they allowed women's soccer (finally!) but it doesn't exist anymore.
U.S. Softball Team Possibly Saved Softball From Being Axed...
www.myspace.com/lunakiss7
in future Olympics?
I'm sad we didn't win gold but maybe for a good reason. Still congrats to the ladies anyway. I probably would had been more upset if they had gotten gold and softball wouldn't be part of the Olympics. I can't stand discrimination. What about basketball? Were they going to eliminate the sport too b/c we're good in it? No. Geez whiz.
Anyway, Congrats to all the medalists.
The first handball picture's caption
"Hammerseng, Nyberg and a teammate take down a Russian opponent"
That was all Katja - the aftermath of the third picture where she's picking the Russian up and tossing her down ^_^ There's a .gif of it floating around on the Gro forums, but I can't find it >_<
Katja taking out the Russian animated .gif
Thanks to McVet05
A favorite moment
Indeed
Haha WOW
Yes
Yep, that was a foul. Even in handball, you're not really allowed to pick people off the ground and them throw them down:) So the Russians got a free throw for that. Which is basically nothing, just stopping the game, and restarting their offense.
I think it should be added
I think it should be added that the Russian handball player is 1.98m (6 foot 5) tall and weighs 98kg (around 15 Stone).
She really wanted that ball!
DAVID MITCHAM
It's actually
Gro and Katja were amazing
Gro and Katja were amazing and the whole Norway team totally deserved to win!
Heia Norge!
Thanks Sarah!
Great reporting. Plus I loved the images selected to supplement the article. I got more info from taking 5 min to read this than from all of my scouring of the straight sports new casting and write-ups.
Kappa Kappa EM Pie - We love Sarah Warn
I love it
Thanks for the wrap up...it's much appreciated. I am officially a fan of handball thanks to all the people on this site and their obsession with Gro and Katja. When I was growing up we played handball with a raquetball against a wall during recess.
The U.S. Women's Soccer Team kicks ass! And I was sad about our softball team but hopefully our loss will help bring it back in 2016. I agree that Matthias Steiner had one of the best moments of these Olympic Games. Congrats to all the athletes!
In spite of all the amazing
Perfect winners
Okay this photo has to be shared :-)
Talk about a perfect couple, gold medal winners and Olympic champions, simply cute beyond words. Already posted my congrats, but this photo explains a lot of the reasons behind the huge popularity of the Gro and Katja thread - perfection!!!
AWWWW!!!!
hm