NFL
By: Zachary Draves
The Tokyo Olympics is poised to be historic for more reasons than one.
One of those reasons is that BMX rider Chelsea Wolfe is poised to become the first openly transgender athlete competing for Team USA and what better time than during pride month.
(Courtesy: Out Magazine)
She earned her spot after placing 5th in the BMX Freestyle Park Finals held in Montpellier, France which placed her 3rd in the overall USA rankings thus solidifying her place on the team as an alternate.
She’ll also join an expected record number of openly LGBTQ+ athletes competing on the world stage.
Chelsea’s journey that culminated in this monumental moment came at the exact right time as trans visibility in sports and society continues to grow.
(Courtesy: USA Today)
In the midst of a continuous and vicious backlash seeking to erase trans people coming from various state legislative bodies, Chelsea earning her rightful place towards potential Olympic glory provides a much-needed symbol of hope for the trans community as well as resistance.
Resistance to the non-stop policing of trans bodies and resistance to politics rooted in pure fear and hatred.
Her bold declaration she makes every time she hops on her bike is the same defiance of the status quo that those who fought back at Stonewall in 1969.
She will be going into Tokyo unapologetically herself and paving the way for others to follow and to take notice.
Chelsea spoke to me about what this moment means to her, what drives her, and what her hopes are for Tokyo and beyond
(Courtesy: USA Cycling)
What does making history mean to you?
It’s absolutely wild to think that I get to be a part of making history with my qualification to the games. So many great people have driven our world forward in the fight for equality and getting to contribute to that progress is such an honor.
What keeps you focused and motivated?
Focus and motivation honestly come fairly easy for me with BMX riding. It’s been my life’s greatest passion for just about my whole life and doesn’t seem to be slowing down, if anything I’m more excited to ride now than I’ve ever been. Even though it’s technically my job, riding is still my favorite thing to do. So even on non-training days and non-competition days, essentially my weekends, I still go out and have fun riding my bike.
Are there any specific goals you want to achieve in Tokyo?
As far as specific goals for Tokyo, I am hoping to get there feeling great and ready to shred, get the course figured out and dialed in with my best riding and then cheer on Perris and Hannah and all the other athletes from the sidelines since I am just the reserve athlete haha. They’ve both worked so hard to earn those spots so what I want to achieve in Tokyo is being ready to jump in if needed but ideally I won’t be needed.
What does the future hold for Chelesa Wolfe?
The future for Chelsea Wolfe looks incredible! My recent world championship finish of 5th earns me a spot on the US national team again so I get to keep competing professionally. We don’t have much for events scheduled at the moment but I’m excited to keep representing the United States in world cups, C1 competitions, world championships and such.
