Swedish skier Elis Lundholm became the first openly transgender athlete to compete in a Winter Olympics by taking part in a women’s classification event.
Swedish skier Elis Lundholm on Tuesday became the first openly transgender athlete to compete at a Winter Olympics after taking part in the first qualification run in women’s moguls. Besides the obvious historic feat, Lundholm, who was assigned female gender at birth but identifies as male, scripted an unprecedented achievement at a time when the International Olympic Committee (IOC) is seriously considering banning trans women from women’s sports.
The movement again trans women competing in women’s sports began after Algerian Imane Khelif and Lin Yu Ting of Taiwan won gold medals in women’s boxing competitions at the Paris Olympics 2024. Khelif and Yu Ting had reportedly failed a sex test at a World Championships. However, there are question marks over the results as the previous International Boxing Association has been suspended by the IOC.
Interestingly, while the accusation against Khelif and Yu Ting was that they were “male boxers,” Lundholm competes in the category that matches the sex he was assigned at birth.
Lundholm has not undergone any gender transition surgeries or hormonal treatments, which can alter his testosterone levels. As a result, he is eligible to take part in female events according to the current regulations of the International Ski Federation (FIS) and the IOC.
“Of course it’s something I thought about,” Lundholm said before the Winter Olympics. “You can hear the voices out there. But then I do my thing, and I don’t give a damn.”
What are Elis Lundholm’s events?
The 23-year-old competes in the moguls freestyle competition. It is completed through a course filled with moguls – a series of bumps. It requires skiers to execute aerial tricks and jumps while completing the event.
Elis Lundholm just made history as the first ever out trans athlete to compete at the Winter Olympics 🏳️⚧️⛷️ pic.twitter.com/yuDpkRHlXv
— Becky Taylor-Gill (@beckytaylorgill) February 10, 2026
Due to the anti-trans restrictions in the Milano Cortina 2026, Lundholm will compete in women’s mogul and women’s dual mogul. He had been part of Sweden’s women’s team since last month.
On Tuesday, Lundholm finished 29th in a 30-athlete field for the first qualification run. The top 10 automatically progressed to the finals. Lundholm will have to do a lot better in the second round on Wednesday to reach the finals.
Why is Elis Lundholm making history significant?
Elis Lundholm’s history-making feat has come at a time when IOC president Kirsty Coventry has said that trans athletes would not be allowed to compete in the women’s categories during the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles. Coventry said that the IOC will introduce a new gender eligibility policy to “protect the female category, first and foremost.”
The IOC is also planning to reintroduce chromosomal “sex testing” at the 2028 Olympics to determine eligibility for female events.
Possible criticism for Lundholm
One cannot deny that Lundholm has won a major battle, that of representation. But it seems he is set to face some criticism from the transgender community.
Some of the community members may feel that by participating in the event of the gender assigned to him at birth, Lundholm may have created obstacles for activists who have been demanding that transgender athletes should be allowed to compete in events based on their gender identity.
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