During her time as an NCAA soccer player with Northern Arizona University, Noel Guevara was out to her teammates and coaches and found the support she needed to enjoy a successful career. Guevara has been with the Arizona Diamondbacks for 12 years, the last five as manager of the team’s community partnerships. In an essay for Outsports on her role in the D’Backs’ outreach to the LGBTQ community, Guevara wrote: “Being a former Division 1 soccer player, I have the mentality of a workhorse. We were taught to do things the right way, never cut corners and to never let anyone see your struggle. I value integrity. In fact, I tend to overthink things to the point of hiding in many situations.”

– Ken Schultz

Nico Young has been an elite college middle distance runner and burst on the international scene in 2024 after making the U.S. Olympic team in the 10,000 meters, finishing in 12th place. As good as Young is on the track, he is even better as a visible member of the LGBTQ sports community. Young came out in 2022, in part to be a role model for other LGBTQ athletes. “I am living proof that it is not a choice,” read part of his coming out message on Instagram. “I have struggled to accept myself, but I am becoming more proud and happy with who I am.” At only 22, Young will continue to be a role model for LGBTQ athletes.”

– Jim Buzinski

One of the great gay athletes of all time, Martina Navratilova won 56 Grand Slam titles, singles and doubles, the second-most of all time. Since them, Navratilova has been a champion of the gay community, but her views have been more controversial in recent years as she has advocated against the inclusion of trans women in the female sports category, prompting major backlash from the LGBTQ community. She continues to be a powerful voice in the sports world in both the tennis media and both pro-gay and anti-trans advocacy.

– Cyd Zeigler

Here’s Johnny! NBC figure skating analyst Johnny Weir has become a fixture during the Olympics, and that now includes the Summer Games, where in Paris he dished during the Closing Ceremony. Weir is also a judge on a roller skating reality competition that aired this month. While he didn’t publicly come out as gay until the publication of his 2011 autobiography, Weir underscored his skills on the ice with a fierce persona and dazzling ensembles combining sequins, glitter, and makeup. His LGBTQ-influenced personal style became the talk of the Torino 2006 and Vancouver 2010 Games. Weir is a true original who has never shied from being who he is.

– Ken Schultz

Stephanie Wheeler is a true legend in the world of wheelchair basketball. Currently the long-time head coach of the women’s team at the University of Illinois, this year she has helped with the men’s team as well, as the head coach position has been vacant. An incredible advocate for adaptive sports, Wheeler won two gold medals as a player at the Paralympic Games, and then one as head coach of Team USA. Wheeler was instrumental in helping to get Ballin’ Out produced, which is Outsports’ online video series about the out LGBTQ people on the Team USA women’s wheelchair basketball team.

– Cyd Zeigler

Nothing speaks to the legacy of Amanda Nunes more than how she remains a dominant topic within women’s MMA despite retiring from competition last June. Nunes retired as a UFC double champion, the only woman ever to do so, after becoming the first woman ever to hold titles in two UFC weight classes and the first UFC fighter regardless of gender to defend both successfully. She and wife Nina Nunes welcomed their second child during her time away from the sport. Nunes is one the greatest fighters of all time, and the world might get another chance to see why if UFC president Dana White heeds her recent request to call her.

– Brian C. Bell

Prokop, now 22, was only 19 when he came out as gay, the first player under contract with an NHL team to do so. He has thrived in the minor leagues as he awaits his chance to make history with an NHL team. This summer, he played in the Seattle Pride Classic, a 20-team event with most players being LGBTQ. “They all love the sport, and they should all be able to play the sport,” Prokop said about why he played. “It’s not so much a development tournament or anything like that for me, it’s just kind of more so to go out there and show my appreciation for my community and just have some fun.”

– Jim Buzinski

Liz Carmouche’s lengthy MMA career has seen several notable moments: competing in the UFC’s first women’s bout, multiple UFC title fights and battling in the UFC’s first all-LGBTQ fight. But Carmouche’s presence within the sport extends further than her UFC career. “Girl-Rilla” entered the third year of her reign as Bellator Flyweight champion in 2024 and made her Professional Fighters League debut in April. She reached the semi-finals of the PFL Women’s Flyweight playoffs before incurring her first loss since 2020. But her continued presence in MMA means she and her trademark rainbow mouthguard aren’t yet done.

– Brian C. Bell

Brent Miller has played a key role for Proctor & Gamble elevating LGBTQ athletes for many years. As an Olympic sponsor, P&G most recently brought together the LGBTQ community, including out athletes like Gus Kenworthy and the US women’s rowing team, for a special event during the Paris Olympics. But Miller doesn’t stop there, with P&G saying in his bio: “Miller created ‘Can’t Cancel Pride,’ an annual recognition of people and organizations advancing LGBTQ+ equality, which has raised more than $17 million for LGBTQ+ organizations since 2020.”

– Cyd Zeigler