Chelsea Wolfe (BMX cyclist)

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Chelsea Wolfe
Personal information
Born (1993-05-05) May 5, 1993 (age 32)
Home town Lake Park, Florida, United States
Education University of Central Florida
Sport
Sport Freestyle BMX

Chelsea Wolfe (born May 5, 1993 [1] ) is an American freestyle BMX cyclist. She was an alternate for the women's BMX freestyle team representing the United States at the 2020 Summer Olympics, making her the first openly transgender sportsperson to qualify for the Olympics for the United States.

Contents

Early life and education

Chelsea Wolfe is from Lake Park, Florida, and was raised in a family of BMX riders. She began riding the bike when she was six years old. Her family traveled across Florida in a recreational vehicle for her to compete across the state. She came out as a trans girl to her mother at seventeen years old. She attended Inlet Grove Community High School and the University of Central Florida. [2]

Career

Wolfe had already undergone gender transition when she began competing as an amateur in 2014. [3] She began traveling across the United States to compete in 2016 after it was announced that freestyle BMX would be included in the 2020 Summer Olympics. [4] She placed fifth at the UCI BMX World Championships in 2021, earning her a spot as an alternate in the 2020 Summer Olympics, making her the first openly transgender sportsperson to qualify for the Olympics for the United States. [5] [6] [7] [8]

In 2023, Wolfe was scheduled to compete at the UCI BMX World Championships again in Scotland, which, if she had won the world title, would have qualified her to represent the United States at the 2024 Summer Olympics. However, she was unable to compete due to the Union Cycliste Internationale implementing a new rule banning transgender women from participation in the women's category. [9] The decision effectively ended her competitive BMX freestyle career and stopped her from receiving money from competitions. [10] The United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee was supportive of her and provided her with a therapist, which she said she would not have been able to afford otherwise. After the UCI ended her BMX career, she was placed on suicide watch. [9]

Personal life

Due to her gender identity, Wolfe has faced transphobic hatred at competitions and has lost contact with some members of her family. [2] Wolfe is autistic. [11] Wolfe volunteered for Jack the Bike Man, an organization based in Florida that refurbishes bicycles in order to donate them to marginalized groups. [2]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Wolfe, Chelsea [@chelseawolfebmx]; (May 5, 2025). "Today's my birthday! Kicked off 32 with a stellar weekend of bikes 📽️: @jbase #mtb #mountainbike #mtbgirl" . Retrieved June 3, 2025– via Instagram.
  2. 1 2 3 Kokal, Katherine (July 30, 2021). "BMX rider Chelsea Wolfe from Lake Park to make history as Team USA's first trans athlete". The Palm Beach Post. Archived from the original on August 3, 2024. Retrieved June 1, 2025.
  3. ↑ Armour, Nancy (July 8, 2020). "Opinion: By being who she is, BMX freestyle rider Chelsea Wolfe is Changing the Game". USA TODAY. Archived from the original on May 29, 2023. Retrieved June 1, 2025.
  4. ↑ Baska, Maggie (June 10, 2021). "Trans athlete Chelsea Wolfe poised to make Olympics history after stunning BMX victory". PinkNews. Archived from the original on January 25, 2025. Retrieved June 2, 2025.
  5. ↑ Zeigler, Cyd (June 11, 2021). "Trans BMXer Chelsea Wolfe named USA reserve athlete, will travel to the Olympics". OutSports. Retrieved June 1, 2025.
  6. ↑ Padgett, Donald (June 10, 2021). "BMX Rider Chelsea Wolfe Might Become 1st Out Trans U.S. Olympian". Out . Archived from the original on February 15, 2025. Retrieved June 1, 2025.
  7. ↑ du Plessis, Lindsay (June 9, 2021). "Trans BMX rider in line for Team USA at Tokyo Olympics". ESPN. Archived from the original on October 3, 2024. Retrieved June 1, 2025.
  8. ↑ Ruiz-Grossman, Sarah (June 17, 2021). "Chelsea Wolfe Makes History As First Trans Athlete To Go To Olympics With Team USA". HuffPost. Archived from the original on May 26, 2024. Retrieved June 1, 2025.
  9. 1 2 Hurford, Molly (August 9, 2023). "Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolfe? Chelsea Wolfe talks candidly about the UCI's ban on trans women athletes, mental health, and what we're missing when it comes to protecting women's sport". Bicycling. Archived from the original on December 20, 2024. Retrieved June 1, 2025.
  10. ↑ Cretaz, Frankie de la (August 5, 2024). "3 Trans Athletes on Why Being Excluded From Women's Sports Is So Devastating". Self . Archived from the original on April 9, 2025. Retrieved June 1, 2025.
  11. ↑ Ober, Lauren (December 22, 2022). Chelsea Wolfe, your everyday trans autistic BMX Olympian (Podcast). The Loudest Girl in the World. Retrieved June 1, 2025– via Pushkin Industries.
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