Image Source: Getty / Andreas Rentz [1]

On Feb. 11, Canadian figure skating duo Eric Radford and Meagan Duhamel delivered a powerhouse performance [2] to Adele's "Hometown Glory" at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea [3]. The phenomenal skater helped team Canada earn the gold medal [4], which marked an incredible victory for the nation. But there's another significant benchmark to recognize: Radford has become the first openly gay athlete to win a gold medal at the Winter Olympics.

Radford publicly came out of the closet [5] in 2014, shortly after the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. In 2015, Olympic skier Gus Kenworthy also came out [6]. This time around, there are 14 out-and-proud LGBTQ+ athletes competing [7], which is a historic benchmark in and of itself. But Radford's gold medal win (and US figure skater Adam Rippon's bronze medal win) are even more momentous. Not only are these LGBTQ+ Olympians beacons of representation, but they are excelling. (They're also throwing shade at conservative people [8] like Mike Pence, but that's an entirely different story.)

So proud that @Adaripp [9] and I get to wear these medals and show the world what we can do! #represent [10]🏳️‍🌈 #olympics [11] #pyeongchang2018 [12] #pride [13] #outandproud [14] #medalists [15] #TeamNorthAmerica [16] pic.twitter.com/eXMlZ2Utrw [17]

— Eric Radford (@Rad85E) February 12, 2018 [18]

In the wake of the victory, Radford was simply over the moon with pride on his official Twitter account. In addition to an LGBTQ+-pride-focused snap that included Rippon, Radford said he might "explode with pride" [19] and shared an additional victory snap [20]. With plenty more figure skating events [21] on tap for the next couple of weeks (not to mention the other sports with LGBTQ+ athletes), we're crossing our fingers that this is just the start of a groundbreaking year in Olympic history.