Random Famous Transgender Athletes You Should Know (22 items)

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  (#1) Caitlyn Jenner

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  Jenner inspired U.S. sports fans during the 1976 Olympics by winning the gold medal in the decathlon. She came out as transgender in a 2015 interview with Diane Sawyer. Besides her athletic accomplishments, Jenner is known for starring in the reality TV shows Keeping Up with the Kardashians and I Am Cait.
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  (#2) Balian Buschbaum

  Balian Buschbaum – then Yvonne – competed as a pole vaulter in the 2000 Olympic games. In 2007, Buschbaum began to take hormones to transition and revealed his new identity the following year. "I feel as if I am a man and have to live my life in the body of a woman. I am aware of the fact that transsexuality is a fringe issue, and I do not want to be responsible for it remaining on the fringe," he said.
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  (#3) Fallon Fox

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  Fallon Fox is the first openly transgender woman to compete in MMA. Her decision to compete as a woman has been the subject of criticism by some of her peers, with Ronda Rousey calling her birth-assigned gender "an [unfair] advantage."
   
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  (#4) Andreas Krieger

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  Krieger – then Heidi – won the gold medal in shot put at the European Championships in 1986. Krieger underwent a female to male sex change operation in 1997. At a young age, he was unknowingly given steroids by East German officials in order to perform better athletically. Krieger attributes his sexual identity to being given these drugs. ''They killed Heidi," he said.
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  (#5) Roberta Cowell

  • Dec. at 93 (1918-2011)

  In 1948, Roberta Cowell – then Robert – became the first man in Britain to undergo gender reassignment surgery. She had previously raced in the Belgian Grand Prix.
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  (#6) Kye Allums

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  Kye Allums is the first openly transgender NCAA athlete to play Division I sports. Of public perception and acceptance of trans people, he said, "Everyone’s attitude towards trans people is not going to change overnight, and for some they may never change, but I think as long as us trans folks continue to be our true selves, and fight for what we believe in, change will continue to happen whether people are ready for it or not."
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  (#7) Mianne Bagger

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  Mianne Bagger is the first openly transgender woman to play in a professional golf tournament. "Following the initial media focus and fuss with my first couple of years on tour, life has pretty much settled down for me now and I have been left to focus on my golf. I continue to work on my game and to follow my passion for a game I have always loved so much," she says on her website. "There is still a lot of progress to be made in international sports and I hope my life at least helps to broaden attitudes and help further progress to be made."
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  (#8) Mark Weston

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  Mark Weston, born Mary Louise Edith Weston, was a champion javelin thrower in the 1920s. In 1935, he transitioned from female to male. "I am recognized by the medical and the law as a man and am now married,” he said at the time.
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  (#9) Michelle Dumaresq

  "I never set out to change the world of sport, I just wanted to race a bike, if what I have done opens the door for other trans athletes then that will be wonderful," Michelle Dumaresq said. The Canadian mountain bike racer regularly represents her country at events around the world.
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  (#10) Erik Schinegger

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  Erik Schinegger, born Erika, is a champion skier from Chile. After Schinegger was subjected to testing from gaming officials, he learned that he was chromosomally male and intersex. He underwent corrective surgery that revealed that he had internal male genitalia. "The discovery was a tremendous shock for me, my parents and everyone who knew me," he said. "What came afterward was an indescribable torture." He was blocked from many skiing competitions, including the 1972 Olympics, and retired from the sport.
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  (#11) Jaiyah Saelua

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  Soccer player Jaiyah Saelua is the first transgender woman to play in the World Cup. "I’m proud to be transgender,” she said. “The gay struggle is coming to an end, and it’s time for transgender women to play a part in the world."
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  (#12) Chris Mosier

  Triathlete Chris Mosier is the first transgender man to be a member of Team USA. "I was upset with breasts," he said. "I worked so hard to have my body look and compete the way I wanted it to. But I didn’t have the flat chest and a six-pack that I thought I would. My body didn't betray me — but my body did disappoint me."

  Mosier began to transition in 2010. "I'm going to keep busting my ass to get on the podium – and hopefully that makes it better for other people," he said. "I want to be the person I needed 10 years ago."
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  (#13) Bobbi Lancaster

  Golfer Bobbi Lancaster, born Robert Lancaster, underwent gender reassignment surgery in 2010 at the age of 59. "I received literally hundreds of responses from people who were touched, inspired, motivated and changed by my story," she said. "This was the best part for me. I felt I was making a difference and healing in many situations"
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  (#14) Schuyler Bailar

  Swimmer Schuyler Bailar is one of the first openly transgender male athletes to compete in NCAA Division I men's sports. "I know I made the right decision," he said. "But I think sometimes. . . I'm like, 'Oh, I really wish I could – I could compete as a girl. Because I want to win that race.' It's fun to win, and it's something that I worked really hard for. And, you know, I work the same amount." But the experience of competing as a man, he adds, "It's a glory that, like, fills me inside.
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  (#15) Renee Richards

  Tennis player Dr. Renee Richards, born Richard Raskind, underwent a sex change operation in 1974. "I'm here to make a point. It's a human rights issue," she said of being asked to submit to hormone tests. "I want to show that someone who has a different lifestyle or medical condition, has a right to stand up for what they are."
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  (#16) Janae Kroc

  Powerlifter Janae Kroc, born Matt, was outed as being transgender by a YouTube video. "That's a horrible thing to do," she said of being outed. "But for me, the point I'm at in my life, it was almost good timing."
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  (#17) Savannah Burton

  Dodgeball player and athlete Savannah Burton is the first out transgender athlete in Canadian history to compete in team sports internationally.
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  (#18) Lana Lawless

  In 2010, golfer Lana Lawless – who had gender reassignment surgery in 2005 – sued the LPGA for its requirement that competitors be female at birth. “It’s an issue of access and opportunity,” she said. “I’ve been shut out because of prejudice."
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  (#19) Alessia Almeri

  Italian volleyball player Alessia Almeri, born Alessio Almeri, plays for the Italian club Hermaea Olbia.
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  (#20) Keelin Godsey

  Hammer throw competitor Keelin Godsey, born Kelly, has publicly identified as male since 2005. “I’ve always said in my head this was probably going to be it, but when it’s your life, it’s really hard to say goodbye to it," he said after failing to make the U.S. Team for the London Olympic games.
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  (#21) Chloe Anderson

  Chloe Anderson is a transgender volleyball player at Santa Ana College who began to make the transition to female when she was 19. "People who say male-to-female trans athletes have a physical advantage have never taken hormones," she said.
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  (#22) Natalie van Gogh

  Cyclist Natalie van Gogh underwent gender reassignment surgery in 2005.

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