Lundholm had a good run in the second qualifying round in the Humpback of Livigno, but it was not enough to place him in the top 20 going into the final.
“It wasn’t my best ride, but it was still nice to do one,” said Lundholm, who crashed in the first qualifying round.
Now the Olympic debut is over and hopefully the worst of the nerves have faded ahead of the weekend’s parallel competition, which may be Elis Lundholm’s best chance at the Olympics.
– There were a lot of nerves. There’s a lot you’re not used to, with cameras and other things, he says.
The Swede was too He is guarded just because of who he is. The 23-year-old competes in the women’s class but identifies as male. He was born in a female body and has not undergone gender reassignment surgery. But five years ago he took the step of changing his name and introducing himself as a man.
Elis Lundholm is the first openly transgender person to compete in the Winter Olympics, and this has made many international media outlets want to talk to him. The Swedish Olympic Committee has tried to spare the skater from too many interviews.
In connection with the competition days it is more difficult. Elis Lundholm admits that it is a higher seat.
– I’ve never done that before.
Regarding his selection for the Olympics, Elis Lundholm told DN that it would not be appropriate to start hormone treatment while he continues to compete.
Same day as the news When his Olympic ticket came out, Lundholm closed his Instagram account after the national team was informed that unpleasant and hateful comments had been received.
– It was mainly for security. It became big news and then it felt easiest to remove it before it became a big deal. Mostly I’ve only received nice messages and people are nice.
He reopened the account after a few days, but continued to deactivate the comment function. The number of followers has also quadrupled in a short period of time, albeit from a modest starting level.
He is now being asked many questions During the Olympics, it’s about his identity and comes with the expectation that he wants to be a figurehead for trans issues in general. However, he has no interest in that.
– I don’t know, they do what they want, I do mine, he says.
However, when asked by an international news outlet what message he wants to send to everyone out there, he has one answer:
– That I want everyone to be themselves and do what they want to do.
Read more:
He competes for Sweden as a trans at the Olympics: “Very uncomplicated”
Professor: That’s why gender testing has barely been mentioned in winter sports
This is how the sport tries to decide who can compete as a woman
