2020 Olympic Games is the first to host openly transgender athletes – here’s what they said about the experience

• The 2020 Olympics are the first to host multiple transgender athletes in their games.
• Four athletes made history this year.
• Their time in Tokyo was underpinned by joy at their feats whilst being marred by online abuse.
• Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.

The 2020 Olympic Games have been – to use a well-worn term – unprecedented for many reasons.

In addition to the crowd-less stadiums, sweltering heat, and cardboard beds, the 2020 Olympic Games also hosted another first – the first outwardly transgender athletes to compete.

New Zealand weightlifter Laurel Hubbard and USA's Chelsea Wolfe, a reserve on the BMX Freestyler team, were the first trans women to represent their countries at the Olympic Games. They were joined by the USA skateboarder Alana Smith and Canada soccer player Quinn – the first openly transgender non-binary athletes.

To cement the change even further, Quinn took home gold in the first Olympic win for Canada's women's soccer team.

Meghan Rapinoe, an Olympic US soccer player who Donald Trump recently dismissed as the "purple-haired woman" – who has been loudly committed to furthering LGBT rights, was pictured congratulating Quinn on their win. Insider's Meredith Cash has the full story.

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The quartet took a stand against the prescriptive notion of gendered sporting events. Alana Smith - who also made history by being in the first-ever Olympic skateboarding team - said, "I don't want to be known as a good female skateboarder. I just want to be known as a good skater, someone that made a difference. Gender shouldn't matter."

On their Instagram, Smith wrote an emotional homage to their time in Tokyo: "My goal coming into this was to be happy and be a visual representation for humans like me. For the first time in my entire life, I'm proud of the person I've worked to become. I choose my happiness over medaling.

"Last night, I had a moment on the balcony, I'm not religious or have anyone/anything I talk to. Last night I thanked whoever it was out there that gave me the chance to not leave this world the night I laid in the middle of the road."

Transgender and non-binary people are at much higher risk of experiencing depression, suicidal ideation, and suicide risks than their cis-gender counterparts - making the high-profile representation of the trans community at the Olympics all the more important.

Chelsea Wolfe said on Instagram: "To get to be a part of BMX freestyle's Olympic debut is something that will always be special to me and I'm so proud of what my work to get there means for our mission to create a better world. Despite every bit of cis supremacy that stood in my way and still tries to tear me down, I persevered because liberation and equal opportunity is the future."

There is hope that these games are a step forwards in the normalization of the inclusion of LGBT athletes at the Olympic games.

New Zealand's Laurel Hubbard, whose participation in the women's weightlifting was highly contested, said: "I don't think [her appearance at the games should] be historic. I think as we move into a new and more understanding world, people are starting to realize that people like me are just people."

She was able to participate in this year's games in the women's super-heavyweight category in Tokyo due to new International Olympic Committee guidelines, which state a person can compete in a female sporting team - regardless of what sex they were assigned at birth - if their testosterone registers below a certain level.

Some critics, including fellow competitors, argue that her competing in Tokyo is unfair to cisgender athletes. Save Women's Sports Australasia, an advocacy group that opposes transgender women's participation in women's sports, criticized Hubbard's selection.

"It is a flawed policy from the IOC that has allowed the selection of a 43-year-old biological male who identifies as a woman to compete in the female category," the group said.

In a rare interview with the media, Hubbard said, "We are human and, as such, I hope that just being here is enough. All I have ever wanted as an athlete is to be regarded as an athlete," Reuters report.

In their Instagram post on the highs and lows of their time in Tokyo, Canada's Quinn said: "I feel optimistic for change. Change in legislature. Changes in rules, structures, and mindsets.

Mostly, I feel aware of the realities. Trans girls being banned from sports. Trans women facing discrimination and bias while trying to pursue their Olympic dreams. The fight isn't close to over… and I'll celebrate when we're all here."

'Abomination' and 'perversion' - the transphobic backlash

However, as Quinn wrote, whilst there is much to celebrate about an increase in sporting diversity, this has been tarnished by vicious online abuse of trans athletes.

Insider reached out to the four athletes but their teams made it clear that they were not comfortable with media appearances due to the backlash that they had faced while in the Olympic spotlight.

The inclusion of trans individuals within sports has caused abuse from some quarters.

Russian TV used words such as "abomination" and "perversion" to describe LGBT participants in the games, the BBC reported.

Before her match, in which she finished seventh, the New Zealand Olympic Committee said they were taking steps to support Hubbard from abuse, The Times reported.

New Zealand Olympic Committee spokeswoman Ashley Abbott advised that Hubbard was staying quiet in Tokyo and said that "certainly we have seen a groundswell of comment about it and a lot of it is inappropriate.

"As an organization, we would look to shield our athlete, or any athlete, from anything negative in the social media space. We don't condone cyberbullying in any way."

"Our view is that we've got a culture of manaaki (inclusion) and it's our role to support all eligible athletes on our team," Abbott added. "In terms of social media, we won't be engaging in any kind of negative debate. We all need to remember that there's a person behind all these technical questions."