PA/caitlynjenner/InstagramCaitlyn Jenner, a former gold medal-winning athlete, says coming out as a trans woman was more difficult than competing in the Olympic Games.
Caitlyn, previously known as Bruce, came out as transgender in 2015. Going from Olympic athlete in a former life to reality star, alongside ex-wife Kris Jenner and the other high-profile family members, Keeping Up With The Kardashians put her further in the spotlight.
However, while ‘everyone loved the games’, Caitlyn Jenner felt far less accepted after transitioning from male to female.
PAThe 70-year-old reality star recently spoke on the BBC’s Don’t Tell Me the Score Podcast, saying people ‘hated her guts’ when she transitioned.
Caitlyn said:
I trained 12 years for the games. I trained 65 years to transition in 2015. It was harder to do, it was less accepted. Everyone loved the games, a lot of people when they see you transition hate your guts. Look at the quotes on Instagram. By far that was a lot more difficult.
Caitlyn, who has six children, said: ‘I have the great double. Olympic decathlon champion [in 1976] and Glamour’s Woman of the Year.’ However, she added that while she enjoyed succeeding at sports, training helped her to ‘run away from her issues’.
PACaitlyn explained:
A lot of the training was really running away from the issues I had. I remember getting up the next morning, didn’t have a stitch of clothes on, walking to the bathroom, medal sitting there on the table, put the medal around my neck, looking in the mirror and I go: what have you just done?
Am I stuck with this person the rest of my life? Did you build up this person so big, that you’re stuck with him the rest of your life? It was scary.
Following transition, the 70-year-old has raised around $2.6 million for trans organisations. However, while ‘a lot of them are extraordinarily appreciative of it’, others are apparently wary of how controversial Caitlyn can be.
PAWhile on the podcast, she also took a moment to comment on the International Olympic Committee’s approach to trans athletes competing in the 2020 Olympic Games, saying ‘they deserve the opportunity to play sports’.
Caitlyn added:
I think the most important thing, is people that are different, people that are dealing with trans issues… I think they deserve an opportunity to play sports.
Sports was very, very good to me. We should not deny them of that opportunity. But also we should look at it closely and almost deal with it on an individual basis. But the Olympic Committee is doing a good job.
Just recently, Rachel McKinnon, a transgender cyclist, defended her world title win after Donald Trump Jr. said ‘this bullshit will destroy women’s sports’.
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After graduating from Glasgow Caledonian University with an NCTJ and BCTJ-accredited Multimedia Journalism degree, Cameron ventured into the world of print journalism at The National, while also working as a freelance film journalist on the side, becoming an accredited Rotten Tomatoes critic in the process. He’s now left his Scottish homelands and took up residence at UNILAD as a journalist.