Ashley Cain-Gribble and Timothy LeDuc

Pairs figure skater Timothy LeDuc likes to say that he is “unapologetically myself.” But he’s had to fight – and is still fighting – for acceptance on and off the ice.

When LeDuc told the parent of a former skating partner that he was gay, he recalled her saying, “Oh my goodness, you need to keep that to yourself. That’s going to make us look really bad. Don’t tell anyone in my family – they’ll try to perform an exorcism on you. But you skate really good, so we’ll let you stay.”

Now LeDuc, 29, is staying true to himself. In January, he became the first openly gay athlete to win the national pairs title when he and Ashley Cain, his partner of three years, won the 2019 championship in Detroit. Her parents are among their coaches.



LeDuc, who said he identifies more with the word “queer” than the word “gay,” is taking advantage of his new platform to speak out – not only in June during LGBT Pride Month, but year-round.

“Sometimes people will say, ’Well, why does it matter if you’re gay? It doesn’t change what you do on the ice.’ And I would say, ‘Actually it does. It has everything to do with what we do on the ice, because I am authentically being myself and that makes me a better skater and a better athlete.”

“I know that I stand on the shoulders of so many great athletes that have come before me and who have been very brave and open and unapologetic in their queerness and that has allowed me to be an openly queer athlete,” said LeDuc, who has been out since he was 18.






He said that by being vocal and authentic, “I am giving permission to some other young person who may not be in an affirming environment and who needs that role model to look up to who can say, ‘Look, there is someone who is unapologetically being themselves, who does not have to alter who they are to fit in and they’re also snatching trophies.’”

While LeDuc said it is important to note that Randy Gardner (1976-1980 with Tai Babilonia) and Rudy Galindo (1989 and 1990 with Kristi Yamaguchi) came before him as national champions, “They were not open at the time of winning their pairs titles, and there’s a reason for that. In 2019 it’s much easier for me to be out and open. I faced fewer risks because of the hard work of prior generations who have been kicked out of their homes and had their families reject them.”

Growing up in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, LeDuc started skating at 12, a relatively late age for the sport, although he said, “I don’t skate because I’m gay and I’m not gay because I skate. There’s this stereotype ‘Oh, a gay figure skater, groundbreaking,’ but I think people would be really surprised to know that most of the skaters are straight.”

LeDuc was successful in singles, but said pairs “is something I just fell in love with, something about creating a story and competing and training with another person. Once I did it, I couldn’t go back.”