American figure skater Adam Rippon has qualified for the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics, making him the first openly gay U.S. athlete to ever qualify for the Winter Olympics.
The 28-year-old Olympics rookie will be joined in South Korea by fellow American figure skaters Vincent Zhou, 17, and Nathan Chen, 18, NBC News reported.
Rippon may also be, according to research conducted by LGBTQ sports site Outsports, "the first publicly out gay man ever selected to a Winter Olympics team from any country in any sport."
In the rink, Rippon is graceful, able to execute the esteemed "quad lutz," a quadruple spinning jump once thought impossible. Off the ice, he's a firebrand — and one who does not shy away from his sexuality.
"I was recently asked in an interview what its like to be a gay athlete in sports," he tweeted. "I said that it’s exactly like being a straight athlete. Lots of hard work but usually done with better eyebrows."
