Gay athlete Már Gunnarsson becomes Iceland’s flag bearer

Már Gunnarsson is one of the LGBTQ+ competitors to watch at the Paris Paralympic Games, both in and out of the pool.

The world record-breaking Icelandic swimmer is one of about 27 openly LGBTQ+ athletes at the Paralympic Games.

At least 175 openly gay athletes competed at this year’s Olympics. Team LGBTQ+ won a total of 43 medals and finished – unofficially, since “LGBTQ+” isn’t actually a country – in 7th place.

Gunnarsson is 24 and was born with the genetic vision disorder Leber Congenital Amaurosis. He competed in the 200m medley SM11, 100m butterfly S11 and 50m freestyle S11 in Tokyo three years ago.

He won bronze at the World Para Swimming Championships in 2019 and set a world record in the 200m backstroke in 2021. However, since that is not an event in Paris, Gunnarsson will swim in the 100m backstroke S11.

After the Tokyo Games, Gunnarsson shared with the world that he is gay. “The news went viral here and the amount of support I felt from the Icelandic nation was amazing,” he told OutSports.

“I think it reflected how unique we are as a country. I would say we are one of the best countries to live in if people want equal opportunities. For example, I was at the Reykjavik Pride festival and almost 100,000 people came together to celebrate, which is about a quarter of our entire population.

“I just wish more countries had the same attitude.”

In addition to his participation in the pool, Gunnarsson has been named Iceland’s flag bearer. “What an honor to represent our small nation with the big heart,” he wrote on Facebook.

Swimming isn’t Gunnarsson’s only passion, he also enjoys making music – and sometimes he combines the two.