​Building a Legacy of Trans Inclusion in Professional Sports

Triathlete and duathlete Chris Mosier was the first trans person to compete in Olympic trials in the gender that he identifies with, and is sponsored by Nike, also making him the first trans athlete to land a sponsorship with a major sporting company. No big deal. In this talk, he explains how he did it, the implications in his experience for trans athletes everywhere, and what we can do to push back against anti-trans legislation, wherever we live.

Chris Mosier

Bridget Finkeldey

Chris Mosier has been called “the man who changed the Olympics” by the BBC and New York Magazine. In 2020 he made history by becoming the first transgender athlete to compete in the Olympic Trials in the gender with which they identify. In 2015 he became the first openly trans man to make Team USA in the men’s division and was the catalyst for change of the International Olympic Committee policy on transgender athletes. In 2016 he became the first trans athlete to compete in a world championship race under the new rules. Chris is a two-time Men’s National Champion, a Men’s All-American, and an inductee into the National Gay and Lesbian Sports Hall of Fame. He is sponsored by Nike, and was the first transgender athlete to land a contract with any major sporting company. Chris’s website, transathlete.com, is the go-to source for information about transgender athletes in sport. He has written and advocated for change in policies from the high school level to national governing bodies and professional leagues and has become one of the leading grassroots organizers against the current wave of anti-trans legislation across the United States. When not fighting the good fight, he mentors transgender and non-binary athletes around the world in hopes that he can live by his motto of “be who you needed when you were younger.”

Marti Allen-Cummings

Sanmaya Mohanty

Marti Allen-Cummings (They/Them) is an activist, community board member, gig worker and drag artist running who ran for city council in uptown manhattan in 2021. Marti has been working in NYC for 13 years after moving to the city at age 17 to pursue a performing arts career. They know what it’s like to make it in new york living paycheck to paycheck and without insurance. For over a decade, Marti has been deeply involved in the community - advocating for LGBTQIA+ Young people through the Ali Forney Center and aiding new yorkers experiencing homelessness. Throughout the pandemic, Marti built upon that experience to plan PPE handouts, grocery deliveries, coat drives and mutual aid efforts. During the 2016 election Cycle, Marti started organizing and their political activism energized the community and has brought people together who are seeking progressive change in the nation’s politics. Marti currently sits on community board 9 serving the people of Upper Manhattan, and is an advisor on the NYC Nightlife Advisory Board.