A British couple made history last week
at the Rio Olympics when their team took the field, becoming the
first married same-sex couple to play together on the same team.
On Friday, the couple made more
history, becoming the first married gay couple to medal at the
Olympics, and first gold medalists, after Great Britain defeated the
Netherlands in women's field hockey.
Helen and Kate Richardson-Walsh have
been teammates for over two decades. The couple married in 2013, the
first year such unions became legal in the United Kingdom.
“It is really, really special,”
Kate
said. “To win an Olympic medal is special. To do it with your
wife standing next to … we will cherish this for the rest of our
lives.”
Helen told The
Sun, that coming out was a conscious decision. “If you are
really open about it, people say, 'Why do you make such a big deal
about it?'”
Great Britain sent eight openly gay
athletes to compete in Rio, believed to be the highest number of any
country.