Famous Transgender Athletes You Didn't Know!

Caitlyn Jenner has commanded the media with her stunning change, so much maybe that numerous have overlooked who she was some time recently.
The truth of the matter is, Bruce Jenner was a famous athlete when he wedded Kris, however guarantees that and, after its all said and done, Caitlyn wasn't happy in his skin. However, in the event that you think Bruce getting to be Caitlyn is the main case of a transgender athlete, here are a few sportsmen and ladies to demonstrate you off-base.

-Caster Semenya

Transgender Athlete - Caster Semenya

South African runner, Caster Semenya is perhaps one of the most well-known transgender athletes in history. Her sexual identity has been a controversial issue with the IAAF since 2009 when she won the gold for the 800-meter sprint and began receiving emails from those suspicious of her gender due to her masculine features. Leaked results showed that Semenya bears no female sex organs, however the originality of this report has never been confirmed and she continues to compete as a female.


-Fallon Fox

Transgender Athlete - Fallon Fox (formerly Burton Boyd)

The MMA’s first openly trans fighter was Fallon Fox. After serving in the military, Fox made the decision to secretly undergo gender reassignment surgery in Thailand back in 2006. But 6 years later a reporter pretty much blackmailed Fox into revealing her transformation and the controversy over her fighting as a female began.


-Dr. Renee Richards

Transgender Athlete -Renee Richards (formerly Richard Raskind)

She used to be known as Robert, but became well-known as her chosen identity, Renee. The professional tennis player made history when the New York Supreme Court ruled that she could play as a woman following her gender reassignment in 1975. She open the gates for transgender athletes like Fox and Allums, and many others.


-Caitlyn Jenner

Transgender Athlete - Caitlyn Jenner (formerly William Bruce Jenner)

Back in the 70s, Bruce Jenner was an Olympic gold medal champion and known as one of the greatest athletes on the planet. Later, he became known among younger generations as the odd, quirky step-father of the Kardashian sisters. Following the divorce from his wife, Kris, Jenner spend months out of the spotlight until reemerging not as himself but reinvented as Caitlyn Jenner. Caitlyn currently has her own TV show and seems to be living a much happier life.

-Keelin Godsey

Transgender Athlete - Keelin Godsey (formerly Kelly Godsey)

Keelin Godsey is a 16-time champion in track and field and is the first transgender athlete to compete on the U.S. Olympic team. Born “Kelly”, Godsey has identified as a male for over ten years but is forced to compete as a female according to Olympic rules.

-Mianne Bagger

Transgender Athlete - Mianne Bagger (formerly Michael Bagger)

The famous Australian golfer, Mianne Bagger became the first openly trans woman to compete in a professional tournament as the gender that she chose rather than the one with which she was born. Basically she was Caitlyn Jenner before Caitlyn Jenner was Caitlyn Jenner.

-Erik Schinegger

Transgender Athlete -Erik Schinegger (formerly Erika Schinegger)

Erika Schinegger was a female world champion skier, preparing to enter the 1968 Olympics when IOC medical tests revealed that she actually had internal male sex organs! She was instantly disqualified from the downhill women’s race but her dedication to the sport led to her decision to make the huge gender transformation. Erik embraced his male identity and even authored an inspiring book: My Victory over Myself: The Man Who Became a Female World Champion.

-Andreas Krieger

Transgender Athlete -Andreas Krieger (formerly Heidi Krieger)

Andreas Krieger is an interesting case. As a teenager, then “Heidi” Krieger was given anabolic steroids by her shot put coaches. Heidi was unaware of the fact and eventually began to develop masculine features. She came to the point where she gave up struggling with her identity and underwent gender reassigning surgery, becoming Andreas. He has since expressed his disappointment in the choices of his coaches and wished he had had the choice to discover his own sexual identity.

-Lana Lawless

transgender athlete -Lana Lawless

When Lawless won the 2009 Long Drivers of America title, it sparked somewhat of a controversy. The organization immediately changed its rules stating that a female player must be born a female in order to be allowed to compete. In response, Lawless sued the LPGA and the rules were amended again.

-Dr. Bobbi Lancaster

Transgender Athlete - Dr. Bobbi Lancaster (formerly Robert Lancaster)

Just a couple of years after Lawless changed the golfing rule book for the better, Dr. Bobbi (Robert) Lancaster, a respected physician, stepped onto the LPGA scene and was the first transgender golf player to compete on the Symetra Tour.

-Jaiyah Saelua

Transgender Athlete - Jaiyah Saelua (formerly Johnny Saeula)

“Fa’afafine is the third gender specific to the Samoan culture, but the stereotypes associated with fa’afafine are mostly positive…”

These are the words of Jaiyah (formerly Johnny) Saelua, the first ever transgender player to compete in the FIFA World Cup qualifier for American Samoa back in 2011. According to her, Samoan culture is far more accepting and tolerant of transgender individuals – a trait which our own culture should follow!

-Chris Mosier

Transgender athlete -Chris Mosier

A marathon was not the only victory for Chris Mosier. In 2015, he became the first ever transgender athlete to be allowed to join a team that actually matched his gender, not his birth identity. He runs a website, TransAthlete.com, in support of LGBT athletes.

-Kye Allums

Transgender Athlete - Kye Allums (formerly Kyler Kelican Allums)

Kye – formerly Kyler – Allums was playing in the NCAA Division on George Washington University’s women’s team when he decided to make it known to the world that he didn’t want to be a “she” any longer.

Kye received both positive and negative reactions to his transformation but is not a trangender activist and public speaker, supporting LBGT youth

-Chloe Anderson

Chloe Anderson (Volleyball player)

As the first transgender athlete at Santa Ana Collega, CA, volleyball player Chloe Anderson received a lot of flack for her transformation. She says, “People who say male-to-female trans athletes have a physical advantage have never taken hormones. It’s one thing to learn about it in biology class but another thing to live it.”

The world of sports is still a baffling spot for transgender competitors, and a lot of present day society has a considerable measure of sorting out to do, however at any rate a few associations and organizations are starting to prepare for transgender acknowledgment.