Lesbian speed skater Ireen Wüst, who hails from the Netherlands, won the gold medal in the women's 1,500-meter event Feb. 22, according to an EDGE Boston article.
She has had her personal lifewhich includes a relationship with another female skater, Sanne van Kerkhofcovered extensively, which Wüst has resented. "I want to talk about ice skating," Wüst told a reporter, EurOut.com reported Feb. 14. "You are not asking [ straight male skater ] Sven Kramer about how his relationship is going. So why would you ask me? If I would've had a relationship with a guy, you wouldn't have asked me either." Matthew Mitcham, the openly gay Australian diver who won gold during the 2008 Summer Olympics, is one of Wüst's friends.
Wüst won one gold and one bronze medal at the 2006 Turin Winter Olympics. She placed seventh in this year's 3,000-meter event.