LONDON, Jan 21 (Openly) – When Timothy LeDuc takes to the ice in Beijing as the first openly non-binary Winter Olympian, the figure skater aims to challenge gender stereotypes and pave the way for other athletes who feel neither male nor female. The American, who uses they/them pronouns, wants to nix traditional notions that all skating duos tell “Romeo and Juliet” stories, and instead present a show of equality and strength with Olympic partner Ashley Cain-Gribble, 26. “My hope is now being openly non-binary and being outspoken about this, maybe it will make a path for other non-binary and queer athletes that come into pairs in ice dance,” LeDuc, 31, said in a video interview with the Thomson Reuters Foundation. A record number of openly LGBT+ athletes will compete at the Winter Olympics, according to LGBT+ news site Outsports, following the record set at 2021’s Summer Olympics in Tokyo.