Australian snowboarder Belle Brockhoff has been selected to join the 2018 Winter Olympics two months after rupturing a knee ligament in December, Outsports reports.
She wrote on Instagram last week: “JUST GOT MEDICAL CLEARANCE TO COMPETE!!!”
She came out as gay in 2013 as a protest against anti-LGBT laws in Russia prior to the 2014 Sochi Games.
IM SO HAPPY!!! Incredibly honoured and excited to annouce that I'll be representing Australia for the second time at the Olympic Games next month!!! Thankyou to my family, friends, supporters & sponsors for believing in me every step of the way! I will be riding my heart out! ❤ pic.twitter.com/NOInrSP5ui
— Belle Brockhoff (@bellebrockhoff) January 24, 2018
Brockhoff isn’t the only LGBT woman competing. She will join fellow openly lesbian skier Barbara Jezersek, a Serbian 2014 Olympics competitor who will compete for Australia this year, as well as Austrian ski jumper Daniela Iraschko-Stolz.
Brockhoff, Jezersek and Iraschko-Stolz will be three of eight openly gay Olympians at the winter games — double the number who competed in 2014. Read about them here.
