Daniela Iraschko-Stolz
Competitive ski jumper Daniela Iraschko-Stolz has enjoyed a lot of victories in her life, but this last one has been particularly sweet. The 30-year-old Austrian took home a silver medal in the women´s normal hill event at the Winter Olympics in Sochi. Even if she hadn´t medaled, the out athlete still would have scored a huge victory. Iraschko-Stolz, who has been married to partner Isabel since 2013, proved, just by being there, that she wasn´t intimidated by Russia´s fiercely anti-gay climate. She told USA Today that she ″had a very good welcome like every other athlete,″ and said, ″I hope for the future that the people now can see the sport as a chance to change something. That would be nice. Because everyone looks at Russia and its laws, and I think it´s a good idea to change something.″ She seems confident that that change won´t be too far off, either. ″I know Russia will go and make the right steps in the future, and we should give them time,″ she told The Huffington Post. Let´s hope-for the sake of all concerned-that she´s right. -GH
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