Figure skater Timothy LeDuc ready to make history as first non-binary Winter Olympian

LeDuc will compete alongside Ashley Can-Gribble in the figure skating’s pairs competition in Beijing

Ashley Cain-Gribble and Timothy LeDuc compete at the US Figure Skating Championships (Getty)

Timothy LeDuc has more than the Olympics on their mind ahead of a Games debut.

American LeDuc is the first non-binary Winter Olympian and will compete with partner Ashley Can-Gribble in the figure skating’s pairs competition.

Chinese authorities have long censored LGBTQ+ content, even blurring the rainbow flag during a live broadcast of the Eurovision Song Contest.

Last year leading footballer Li Ying became the first Chinese athlete to come out publicly as gay in a post on Weibo, the country’s heavily censored version of Twitter.

The post was later deleted without explanation and Li has not posted on Weibo since. Chinese state-run media, meanwhile, did not report on Li’s announcement, nor the subsequent reaction it generated.

“Ashley and I represent an alternative in pairs skating, a different narrative,” said LeDuc, who began using them/their pronouns in 2021.

“Often we see the ‘Romeo and Juliet’ narrative or the ‘fragile girl and the strong man’ narrative.

“There is nothing necessarily inherently wrong with people doing a romantic programme but sometimes that narrative is centralised in such a way it leaves no room for any other stories to be told, or other narratives or other pair teams are maybe seen as less worthy of points or medals.

“So, we just like to represent a different way and hopefully make more space for other stories to be told in skating.”

In Tokyo, Canadian football star Quinn and American skateboarder Alana Smith became the first non-binary Olympians, though both were widely misgendered in media coverage.

LeDuc and Cain-Gribble have competed together for six years, winning two national titles, and finishing ninth at last year’s World Championships in Stockholm.

“We are just hoping that people at home can see that there are two people out there that are bringing something non-traditional to this sport and that they can feel like they belong as well,” said Cain-Gribble, whose Olympic exploits will be broadcast live on discovery+, Eurosport and Eurosport app.

“Because many times we were told that we didn’t belong, and we just want to show that everybody is a part of this sport, and we can all come together to make it beautiful.”

Both also admit supporting each other off ice has made their partnership strong, targeting a top five finish in Beijing, with the team event commencing on Friday and the pairs programme in the second week of the Games.

“Our mantra that we like to say about our pairs skating is that it’s ‘two pillars of strength’. So, when we are out on the ice, we are both equal energies working together,” added Can-Gribble.

“When you look at our programmes and you break them down, we are both skating as much as the other person, and we are both bringing that same amount of energy and fire to each programme.”

Watch All the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022 live on discovery+, Eurosport and Eurosport app