Simona Meiler - Snowboarding
This will be the third Olympics for Simona Meiler.
The 28 year old kickboxing loving Snowboarder was extremely lucky to make the Swiss Team after breaking her right collar bone in a crash during European Cup training in Pitztal in November. The break stalled her training for 8 weeks.
'Express sexuality'
At the time, Meiler said, "Athletes have to be ready to give everything and perform wholeheartedly, and in my eyes that's only possible if they can accept and express their sexuality. That doesn’t mean they have to blare out that they are gay. But it definitely helps if an athlete’s closer environment is supportive and encouraging.”
She went on to say that being openly gay had allowed her to compete without added stress.
'Only openly gay Swiss athlete'
Meiler was the only openly gay Swiss athlete at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics and her's was the only Swiss name on a petition calling on the sponsors to put more pressure on Putin to reconsider the anti-gay laws he had introduced.
