Athlete.

That’s that word, that title, that collection of unscrambled letters. It’s an identity, a career, a goal, a dream. It’s a community, but also lonely; strong, but also weak. It’s a word that asks and answers a question, declares loudly, but speaks softly. A title that nets you all of the praise in the room, calls you a champion, a warrior, a hero, but also condemns you, marks you, calls you a cheater, a liar, a coward.

I am Angel, Arkangel, and I am an athlete. There are thousands of gender-diverse athletes like me, people who earn that title every second they spend honing and perfecting their skill and their sport. But there are also thousands of people who want to take that away from us, who see us as cheaters, as affronts to their existence. They see sport as an exclusive club, and we’re not invited. To them, those aren’t our records to break, our accolades to earn, or our championships to win.

I want to spread around the world that sport is a human right, that all people should have access to the physical and mental benefits that sport brings, and that everyone should have access to its communities. I want to show the world that trans athletes should not be afraid to exist in these spaces, train alongside their peers, or to surpass their competition. I want to show everyone that we deserve a place on the podium.