Five transgender athletes that dominated the sporting world

CAITLYN Jenner is not the first world-class athlete to have undergone a gender transformation. Here are four others who changed world sport.

CAITLYN JENNER (FORMERLY BRUCE)

Undoubtedly the most famous transgender athlete of the modern era, Caitlyn Jenner was once dubbed “the greatest athlete in the world”, a title often given to Olympic decathlon champions. Formerly a competitive footballer at Graceland College in Iowa, Jenner switched to athletics and quickly excelled in the sport. Finishing 10th in the 1972 Olympics, Jenner went on to dominate the decathlon at the 1976 Games in Montreal, coming away with the gold medal. Outside of her athletic career, Jenner played minor acting roles in the short film Can’t Stop the Music and TV cop show CHIPS. More recently, Jenner came to prominence in the reality TV show Keeping Up With the Kardashians. Upon the release of the June 2015 issue of Vanity Fair, Jenner officially identified as a woman, appearing on the cover as Caitlyn.

RENEE RICHARDS (FORMERLY RICHARD RASKIND)

Born to a conservative Jewish family in Queens, USA, Richards spent a large portion of her life as a man. After 40 years living as Richard Raskind, when her marriage fell apart in 1975 Richards underwent gender reassignment surgery and from then on identified as a woman. A keen tennis player from a young age, Richards rekindled her love for tennis after the surgery and began competing in amateur tennis tournaments. Quickly rising through the competitive ranks, Richards caught the public eye when she was formerly barred from playing professionally as a woman by the United States Tennis Association. In a court case that would act as a landmark decision in favour of transgender rights, the New York Supreme Court ruled in favour of Richard’s right to compete at as a woman. She went on to compete in the doubles final of the 1977 US Open and was ranked 19th in the world by 1979, her best ranking before retiring from professional tennis in 1981.

Renee Richards during the 1977 women’s US Open.

MIANNE BAGGER

A current professional on the Australian Ladies Professional Golf Tour, Bagger became the second transgender woman ever to be accepted into a professional sporting competition, beaten only by tennis star Renee Richards. Bagger is famous for lobbying major governing bodies in professional sport in an attempt to have them re-evaluate their regulations regarding gender diversity. As a result of Bagger’s work with the Women’s Professional Golf Association, the Ladies European Tour voted in 2004 to allow Bagger to compete on the tour. Having competed as recently on the ALPG as January this year, Bagger is currently the most prominent transgender athlete in professional sport.

FALLON FOX (FOMERLY BURTON BOYD)

The first openly transgender athlete in the history of MMA, Fox was born a male in Toledo, Ohio and served in the United States Navy before being honourably discharged in 2000. After years of struggling with her conflicting identity, Fox travelled to Thailand in 2006 where she underwent a complete physical transformation from male to female. Fox began training in jiu jitsu and mixed martial arts in 2008 and soon after began competing in the Championship Fighting Alliance. Holding a current MMA record of five wins and one loss, Fox caused widespread controversy in the MMA world in 2013 when she expressed interested in fighting the UFC’s female bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey. Rousey told the New York Post in a 2013 interview that she would fight Fox if asked by the UFC, but did not see it as a fair matchup.

“She can try hormones, chop her pecker off, but it’s still the same bone structure a man has. It’s an advantage. I don’t think it’s fair. ... What if she became UFC champion and we had a transgender women’s champion? It’s a very socially difficult situation.”

Mixed martial artist Fallon Fox.

JAIYAH SAELUA (FORMERLY JONNY SAELUA)

American Samoa footballer Jaiyah Saeula is the first ever transgender athlete to compete in a men’s FIFA World Cup qualifying match. At the age of 22, Saeula made her debut for American Samoa and competed the following year in the 2011 South Pacific Games. After the tournament, FIFA president Sepp Blatter reportedly sent Saelua a congratulatory letter to mark her achievement as a transgender athlete. At 26 years old, Saelua still plays for American Samoa, coined the world’s worst football team by BBC UK.

Jaiyah Saelua.