Timothy LeDuc on the Winter Olympics: Queer People Have ‘Always Been a Part of Sports’

American figure skater Timothy LeDuc will be the first openly non-binary athlete to compete at a Winter Olympics. U.S. Figure Skating paired the 31-year-old with Ashley Cain-Gribble yet again and the duo will compete in Beijing on February 4-20.

In 2019, LeDuc become the first openly gay athlete to win gold at a U.S. pair event, and now he’s continuing to pave the way for a wide range of queer athletes.

"My hope is that when people see my story, it isn't focused on me and saying, 'Oh, Timothy is the first out non-binary person to achieve this level of success in sport,'" LeDuc said during a news conference Saturday, according to NBC Sports.

"My hope is that the narrative shifts more to, queer people can be open and successful in sports. We've always been here, we've always been a part of sports. We just haven't always been able to be open."

Several athletes identified as transgender and non-binary at this summer’s Tokyo Olympics. New Zealand weightlifter Laurel Hubbard was the first transgender woman to compete at an Olympics, and Canadian soccer midfielder Quinn also identifies as non-binary along with U.S. skateboarder Alana Smith.

Now, LeDuc and Cran-Gribble are ready to make history for the Winter Olympic teams. And for the queer community.