BY NATASHA BARSOTTI – Buzzfeed.com has listed 20 openly gay athletes who will be competing in the London Summer Olympics, which staged its opening ceremonies today (July 27). 
They include:
Diver Matthew Mitcham and beach volleyballer Natalie Cook(Australia)
Cyclist Judith Arndt and fencer Imke Dupliitzer (Germany)
Field-hockey players Marilyn Agliotti, Maartje Paumen and Carlien Dirkse van den Heuvel, plus dressage rider Edward Gal(Netherlands)
Triathletes Carole Péon and Jessica Harrison, and handball player Alexandra Lacrabere (France)
Tennis player Lisa Raymond, basketball player Seimone Augustus, soccer player Megan Rapinoe (USA). Extra credit: US soccer coach Pia Sundhage is also out.
Soccer players Jessica Landstrom, Hedvig Lindahl and Lisa Dahlkvist (Sweden)
Dressage rider Carl Hester (Great Britain)
Handball player Mayssa Pessoa (Brazil)
Handball player Rikke Skov (Denmark)
Check out their bios on BuzzFeed.
Meanwhile, multiple Grand Slam tennis singles champion Martina Navratilova, who came out in the early ’80s, told Gay Star Newsthat while the sports world is “still archaic” regarding homosexuality, athletes are “just too paranoid about coming out.”
“I think if they did they would realize it was okay,” she said in the interview.
“It is easy for a player to make jokes about fags or whatever, but if one of the team is an out gay player, they are not going to be making those jokes,” she contends. “If just a few would come out while they are still players, the floodgates would open.”
Read more of Navratilova’s interview at Gay Star News.
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