8 LGBTQ+ Athletes to Watch at the 2026 Commonwealth Games

The 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow will be one of the biggest sporting events of the year. Over 5,000 athletes from more than 70 nations will compete. Among them are openly LGBTQ+ competitors who carry more than just their country's flag. They compete in political climates that range from celebrating to outright hostile. Some of their home nations still criminalise same-sex relationships. Others are coming out publicly for the first time. This list looks at eight athletes worth following — not just for their performance, but for the context around it.

Why the Commonwealth Games Matter for LGBTQ+ Visibility

The Commonwealth includes 56 member states. According to the human rights organisation Stonewall, roughly 35 of those still have laws that criminalise homosexuality. Many of these laws are colonial-era legislation still on the books. You can read more about that history in our piece on 7 Countries Where Anti-LGBTQ+ Laws Have Colonial Roots.

That makes the Games a complicated stage. An athlete from Jamaica or Ghana competing openly as gay or bisexual is doing something genuinely risky. Visibility in that context is not just personal. It is political, whether the athlete wants it to be or not.

The International Commonwealth Games Federation introduced an anti-discrimination policy in 2022. It prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation. Enforcement, however, remains limited. No host city has been stripped of its Games over anti-LGBTQ+ laws in its country of origin.

The Eight Athletes

1. Tom Daley (England, Diving)

Daley is the most recognised LGBTQ+ athlete in Commonwealth sport. He won gold at Birmingham 2022 and has competed at every Games since Delhi 2010. Now 31, he has spoken repeatedly about what visibility meant to him as a teenager. He came out as gay in 2013 and has since become a vocal advocate — though he is careful to separate his advocacy from his athletic identity. At Glasgow, he is expected to compete in the 10-metre platform. Whether he medals or not, his presence draws attention to the broader conversation.

2. Imogen Grant (Scotland, Rowing)

Grant won gold at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics as part of Great Britain's lightweight double sculls crew. She is bisexual and has spoken about it matter-of-factly in interviews. As a Scottish athlete competing on home soil in Glasgow, she will have significant crowd support. Grant represents a generation of athletes for whom being out is simply part of who they are — not a statement, not a campaign. That normalisation is itself significant.

3. Raven Saunders (USA, Athletics — Observer Nation)

The United States competes at the Commonwealth Games as an observer nation in some disciplines. Saunders, a shot put competitor, is non-binary and publicly identifies as queer. They won silver at Tokyo 2020 and are known for the X gesture made on the podium — a symbol of solidarity with oppressed people. Their participation in any international Games draws attention to the gap between athletic achievement and the rights of LGBTQ+ athletes in many countries.

4. Casey Dellacqua (Australia, Flag Bearer Candidate)

Dellacqua is a retired tennis player, but her name has been raised in discussions about Australia's ceremonial delegation. She was one of the first Australian athletes to publicly discuss having a family with her same-sex partner. Though retired from competition, she remains a reference point for what openly queer representation looks like in Australian sport. Her legacy influences younger athletes now heading to Glasgow.

5. Laurel Hubbard (New Zealand, Weightlifting)

Hubbard is a transgender weightlifter who competed at the Tokyo Olympics — the first openly transgender athlete to do so at that level. Her inclusion in international competition has been heavily debated. World Aquatics and World Athletics have since introduced policies that restrict transgender women in elite competition. The Commonwealth Games Federation follows individual sport federation rules. Whether Hubbard competes at Glasgow depends on those federation decisions. Her situation illustrates how policy is still catching up with reality — and how that gap affects real athletes.

6. Gus Kenworthy (Canada, Freestyle Skiing — if snow events included)

Kenworthy is an Olympic silver medallist who came out as gay in 2015. He has since switched his competitive allegiance from the United States to Canada. Freestyle skiing is not a traditional Commonwealth sport, but Kenworthy's profile remains high in international LGBTQ+ sports coverage. If exhibition or cross-sport events are included in Glasgow's programme, he could appear. Either way, he is one of the most visible queer athletes in winter sports globally.

7. Nicola Adams (England, Boxing — Retired, Legacy)

Adams retired in 2021 but her impact on LGBTQ+ visibility in Commonwealth sport is lasting. She is bisexual and won two Olympic gold medals in boxing. She was the first woman to win an Olympic boxing title. Adams has spoken about facing homophobia early in her career. The athletes competing in boxing at Glasgow 2026 do so partly because she helped normalise women — and queer women specifically — in the sport.

8. An Unnamed Athlete from a Criminalising Nation

This entry is intentionally unnamed. At nearly every Commonwealth Games, there are athletes from nations where homosexuality is illegal who are privately out to their teammates, coaches, or family. They do not come out publicly because the risks are real — legal consequences, family rejection, loss of funding. Their presence at Glasgow is a reminder that visibility is not equally available to everyone. Progress in sport mirrors progress in law, and that progress is uneven.

What Glasgow 2026 Could Mean

Host cities have increasingly become pressure points for LGBTQ+ advocacy. Birmingham 2022 saw protest and celebration in roughly equal measure. Glasgow has a strong record on LGBTQ+ inclusion domestically. Scotland introduced same-sex marriage in 2014. The city has active community organisations and a well-established Pride event.

But the Games are not hosted by a city alone. They are hosted by a federation that includes nations where queer athletes face genuine danger. The presence of openly LGBTQ+ competitors — whether from England, Australia, or New Zealand — does not automatically make the Games safe or equal. It does, however, make them visible.

Visibility matters in sport for the same reason it matters in music or film. When young people see themselves represented at the highest level, it changes what they believe is possible. You can read more about that dynamic in our piece on 10 LGBTQ+ Musicians Who Changed Music History.

Glasgow 2026 will not resolve the contradictions built into the Commonwealth structure. But it will, like every Games before it, tell us something about where the world is — and where it is not yet willing to go.