Chelsea Wolfe is trying to change the game.
The BMX freestyle rider has already represented the United States at the World Cup and is now in line for an historic place on Team USA ahead of the Tokyo Olympics, after her fifth-place finish at the UCI Urban World Championships this week.
Wolfe currently sita at third place in the Team USA standings, and if that remains the case she will be an alternate on the team for Tokyo. That means she would be the first out trans athlete on Team USA.
Wolfe told Outsports about being in Team USA contention: “It’s honestly slowly processing little by little how exciting that is.
“I don’t think I’ve fully wrapped my head around how exciting it is, and how incredible it is to make it so far with this wild dream of mine that I’ve dedicated my life to for the past five years.”
She is well aware of how her visibility can make an impact on young LGBTQ+ athletes, and encouraged those being discriminated against to keep their heads high.
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“You are valuable and valid, and your rights are just as important as anyone else’s and we’re not going to let anyone take that from you,” Wolfe told Outsports.
“If you can live life openly as yourself in a world so hostile to your existence, then you already have the strength of a champion.”
