Tabea Schendekehl is used to winning and earning medals.
As a part of the women’s rowing team at the University of Washington, she won two national championships with the NCAA.
Now the out rower — who told Outsports she identifies as pansexual — has added an Olympic bronze medal to her trophy case.
What does it mean to be pansexual? To dig right into the dictionary, a pansexual person is “sexually or romantically attracted to people regardless of their sex or gender.”
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Out rower overcomes depression and a wait to compete for Germany in the Olympics
Tabea Schendekehl is just one of the many out LGBTQ rowers competing for gold at the Paris Summer Olympics.
By Cyd Zeigler | July 9, 2024
While it may seem like being bisexual, it is slightly different. Bisexual people are attracted to men and women. Pansexual people are attracted to people. That’s hard for many of us to understand, but for pansexual people there is an important distinction.
Finishing third in the B final, the USA boat had multiple out LGBTQ athletes.
Schendekehl told Outsports ahead of the Paris Olympics what it meant to her to earn a spot on the German women’s quad sculls rowing team. She posted about her excitement ahead of the final.
For Schendekehl, it hasn’t always been easy.
“It makes me incredibly proud to be at this point after putting in so much work over the last years,” she told Outsports. “Being someone who struggles with anxiety and depression, it means a lot to me and I couldn’t have made it this far without an incredible support system.”
Schendekehl said she has found a home in the LGBTQ community.
“I’ve always felt very comfortable in the LGBTQ community and earlier last year,” she said. “I realized that I definitely am interested in dating people other than straight cis men. I am incredibly grateful to have friends who are supporting me on my LGBTQ journey.”
