Meet The 3 Out Players On The U.S. Women’s Olympic Hockey Team
As the women’s hockey tournament approaches, three out queer players are representing Team USA at the highest level of the sport.
Featured image by Troy Parla/Getty Images
When the U.S. women’s hockey team takes the ice in northern Italy next month, they will do so as a team that includes visible LGBTQ representation at the very top of the sport. At least three players on the 23-person Olympic roster are publicly out: captain Hilary Knight, forward Alex Carpenter, and defender Cayla Barnes.
Hilary Knight, captain and cornerstone
At 36, Hilary Knight is already one of the most decorated players in U.S. women’s hockey history. The forward has four Olympic medals, including gold at the 2018 PyeongChang Games and silver from 2010, 2014, and 2022. The upcoming Milano Cortina Games will mark her fifth Olympics, making her the first U.S. hockey player to reach that milestone.
Knight also captains the Seattle Torrent in the Professional Women’s Hockey League and led the U.S. Women’s National Team at the 2024 World Championships. She publicly came out a few months after the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, telling The Athletic that the “overarching” nature of the term “queer” felt like the best fit for her.
Related: Two Sapphic Soccer Couples Kick Off The New Year With Vows
She is currently dating Brittany Bowe, a two-time Olympic bronze medalist in long track speed skating who has qualified for the 1500 and 1000 meter events in Italy. The couple lives together in Salt Lake City.
Speaking to NBC last summer, Knight spoke about the importance of being out in a sport where representation has not always been visible.
“I think it’s awesome that we have these great feats on ice and that also brings visibility and more storytelling to the space that is underrepresented in many ways,” she said.
Alex Carpenter, veteran leadership with proven consistency
Alex Carpenter, 31, brings experience and steadiness to the U.S. forward group. She is a veteran of the silver medal-winning teams from Sochi in 2014 and Beijing in 2022 and plays alongside Knight with the Seattle Torrent in the PWHL.
Carpenter is married to Steph Klein, a former goaltender who now works as an assistant equipment manager for the Toronto Marlies. The couple wed in Hawaii in 2023 after announcing their engagement ahead of the Beijing Olympics.
At the 2022 Games, Carpenter was the only American hockey player who was publicly out, among a total of 36 out LGBTQ athletes across all sports.
Related: Lesbian Couple’s Surprise Proposal Wins Over Ottawa Crowd During PWHL Home Opener
Cayla Barnes, from teenage prodigy to Olympic mainstay
Defender Cayla Barnes, 27, has been part of the Olympic picture since she was a teenager. She was the youngest player on the gold medal-winning team at PyeongChang in 2018 at just 19 years old, and retained her spot for Beijing in 2022.
Barnes also plays for the Seattle Torrent and has been dating her girlfriend, Hope Walinski, for about three years. Walinski is the goaltender for the Providence College women’s hockey team, and the couple has shared milestones publicly, including marking their anniversary on social media.
A team chasing gold
The U.S. women’s hockey team opens Olympic play on February 5 against Czechia. Four group stage games will follow before the quarterfinals, with the final and all medal round games scheduled for February 19. Team USA is widely considered a favorite for gold.
