Trending Tuesday: Chris Mosier's Road to Representing the USA

Trans athletes in the Olympics this summer? Get your DVR ready because history is about to be made! Maybe more realistically, we could see trans athletes on an international stage as soon as the Winter Olympics in 2018 -- but the possibility is exciting!

check out this article on the subject from buzzfeed

(Note: DO NOT READ THE COMMENTS BELOW THE ARTICLE LINKED ABOVE, THEY ARE HEAVILY TRANSPHOBIC AND MAY BE TRIGGERING).

We want to shine a light specifically on Chris Mosier, a trans man who is making strides (no pun intended) as a duathlon runner/biker and has qualified for the Men's National Team. Because of previous laws regarding transgender athletes and the requirements of sex reassignment surgeries, though Chris had qualified for the men's team he was barred from being able to compete alongside the other men. However, a recent change in olympic rules is making it possible for Mosier to possibly make his debut in Spain this Summer as the first transgender athlete ever to compete in a world championship event. 

Photo by Zhen Heinemann

Chris made headlines last summer when he finished 7th in his age category for the sprint duathlon, qualifying him to compete in the US 2016 World Championship. 

People argue that this will give an unfair advantage to trans individuals, specifically MTF competitors if/when they get to compete alongside cisgender women. The regulations surrounding this decision, however, will be very intense and require testing of hormone levels ensuring that individuals are within normal hormone levels for that gender category. As for physical advantages, Mosier said it best: 

There are women out there beating men in races,” he said. “There are tall and short men and we don’t discriminate against tall or short athletes. Michael Phelps had long arms, but he didn’t get disqualified for having a competitive advantage. That’s just how he was built. There’s so much variation within genders anyway, a lot of the transphobia is built around that.
— CHRIS MOSIER

Aside from being an incredible athlete, Mosier runs transathlete.com where he helps other trans individuals interested in competing by giving them access to information and resources. Mosier is fighting with the IOC (the International Olympic Committee) to make their laws concerning transgender individuals less archaic, which would open the door for trans athletes everywhere to have the opportunity to represent their countries not only in the Olympics but in other international events. Chris' event, the duathlon, is unfortunately not included in the current Olympic games, but the possibility of seeing a trans athlete in a World Championship is no less huge. Here's to hoping that the Olympics committee gets this decision right and trans athletes are finally given equal treatment. While we wait, make sure to check out Chris' gofundme where he is raising money for his (*fingers crossed*) upcoming trip to Spain and all the legal fees he has accumulated fighting for his right to compete.

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