Alexander Zhulin has reacted to the news of the first non-binary figure skater set to compete at the Olympics
Ice dancing icon Alexander Zhulin says he is confused by aspects of non-binary figure skater Timothy LeDuc’s participation at the Beijing Winter Olympics, although others from Russia have responded more positively to the American.
LeDuc is set to become the first openly non-binary athlete ever to compete at a Winter Games after being named on the American figure skating team for next month’s sporting showpiece in China.
READ MORE: US star to become first non-binary Winter Olympics athlete
The 31-year-old will team up with partner Ashley Cain-Gribble in the figure skating pairs, and said the hope was that “the narrative shifts more to [the idea] that 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,” added LeDuc, who as non-binary identifies as neither male nor female, and whose pronoun preferences are ‘they/them’.
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The news has been met with confusion by some figures in Russia, including former ice dancing world champion Zhulin.
