Chris Mosier is a pioneering, multi-sport athlete who is now set to ride and run onto the worldwide stage.
Mosier—who grew up in northwest suburban Lake Zurich and lived there until high school, and then attended graduate school at Loyola University in Chicago in 2004—shined at the Sprint Duathlon National Championship race in early June, consisting of a 2.9K run, a 20.8K bicycle ride, and then a 2.7K run. He finished seventh out of eight of the eight-person U.S. Team while competing in the men's 35-39 age category, and 37th overall out of 117 competitors, spending just over an hour on the endurance event.
Mosier, 34, will now represent the U.S. in the 2016 World Championship duathlon in Spain. He joins the U.S. men's team and is believed to be the first-ever out trans athlete to join a U.S. national team that matches his gender identity, rather than the gender assigned him at birth.
"It's great to see the end result of the hard work I've put in," said Mosier, who is 34. The USAT rules state that athletes compete using the age they will be at the end of the year, thus Mosier competes in the 35-to-39 age-group. "I think about myself as [a] young athlete not being able to find an example of a trans guy competing at a high level; I'm excited that won't have to be the narrative for other athletes.
"I knew it was possible and I knew how I would need to perform to make it happen. I was a little worried leading up to the race as I had a knee injury that kept me from running and cycling for the three weeks leading up to the race, but I knew I had done the training necessary to make it happen. Adrenaline took over on race day and my knee held up, and it all fell into place."
Mosier, who now lives in New York City, is married and a coach with Empire Tri Club and online with DailyBurn. He also works in housing at a college in New York.
"The timing of this is great, with trans topics in the media more than ever, and largely in a positive way," Mosier said. "There aren't many stories of transgender men in athletics, so I am excited to serve as a possible model for other athletes. Plus, once there's a first, there can be many more. I hope this will inspire other athletes to continue to play the sports they love and compete through transition.
"I started [taking] testosterone and changed my competition category in 2010. Thinking back to that first year, I wouldn't guess that I would have made it; my training wasn't as serious and I didn't know what to expect from myself. But this has been on my radar for the last three years, and I was committed in both my training and my mindset to making it happen. As my training got better, there was a definite moment where I knew I could do it."
Mosier said the response from the men's team "has been overwhelming and positive," he said. "I'm just getting a chance to read people's messages and congratulations [days after the meet], so it's really starting to set in. I'm really excited.
"To make a National Team is a big deal in the sports community. My Empire Tri Club and November Project teammates are really excited for me as an athlete because they've been following my training, and everyone seems to be excited about what this means in terms of visibility for trans athletes."
Mosier returns to Chicago at least once a year to visit family and will be in the Windy City in October to run the annual Bank of America Chicago Marathon. He likely will add a few triathlons and duathlons between now and October.
"To compete in general and be eligible for a place on Team USA, I had to receive clearance from the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency. Now that I'll be competing in a world competition, which is governed by the International Triathlon Union ( ITU ) instead of USA Triathlon, I will need to get cleared by the World Anti-Doping Agency ( WADA ) and apply for a Therapeutic Use Exemption for testosterone through both ITU and WADA," Mosier said. "I'm unsure of the rules for the ITU in terms of transgender inclusion beyond that.
"My focus was to make the team first, and do whatever battling necessary to ensure participation after."
Mosier has had blood tests for hormone levels on regular intervals and is subject to random testing at any time.
"I'm an athlete first. I just happen to be trans," Mosier said. "In general, I'm excited to make Team USA; being the first trans athlete is a bonus.
"I haven't had the chance to [celebrate making the men's team], yet. My wife and I drove home from the race so we had a nice long road trip adventure, which was a great way to relax after the intensity leading up to the race. But I haven't had a chance to really celebrate it, yet."
Mosier's accomplishment came days after the much-publicized transition of Caitlyn Jenner, a former U.S. Olympic sensation.
"I'm so happy for her," Mosier said of Jenner. "She is bringing another huge wave of mainstream attention to transgender lives, which is positive. I've never kept up with the Kardashians on TV, so the Diane Sawyer interview was the first I had seen of Jenner. I would love to sit down with her and chat. I am thrilled for her."
Mosier is the executive director of GO! Athletes, the nation's largest network of current and former LGBTQ student athletes. "I focus a lot of my sports energy on trying to create safer spaces in athletics through visibility, education, and advocacy," Mosier said. "I'm really excited about this visibility for trans athletes because I think it will help our K-12 and college athletes who are considering transition or are transitioning. I want people to know they can be themselves and continue to be athletes."
Mosier also is the founder of Transathlete.com, a resource about trans inclusive policies in athletics.
