Olympic athlete issued apology after being misgendered on live TV

NBC has issued an official apology after commentators repeatedly misgendered a transgender Olympic athlete during a livestream this week.

Elis Lundholm, a 23-year-old transgender man and the first trans skier to compete at the Winter Olympics, who uses he/him pronouns in English, took part in the women’s moguls first qualifying round earlier this week (10 February).

Rules set by the International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS) require trans athletes to compete in events tied to their 'registered sex' with the governing body, as noted by Newsweek.

International Ski Federation regulations allow Lundholm to compete in the women's category because he has not started a masculinising hormone replacement therapy regimen.

During a live broadcast of the qualifiers on NBC’s streaming platform Peacock, one commentator, unnamed on air, repeatedly referred to Lundholm as 'she' during his first run, first reported by OutSports.

Elis Lundholm, 23, is the first trans skier to compete at the Winter Olympics (IOC via Getty Images)

"Getting off course here though… oh, she just skids out of that gate. She’s going to hop up and go around to make sure she does not DNF as she continues down the line here," the commentator reportedly said.

A NBC Sports representative has since issued a statement to OutSports on Tuesday.

"NBC Sports takes this matter seriously," the representative said. "Today, we streamed an international feed with non-NBCUniversal commentators who misgendered Olympian Elis Lundholm. "We apologise to Elis and our viewers, and we have removed the replay of that feed."

Lundholm placed 25th in qualifying and did not reach the moguls final.

"I’m happy to put down a run today. It wasn’t the best run," he told reporters in Milan, according to the Associated Press.

"There are some things to fix, but I’m happy."

On eligibility rules, he added that he wants 'everyone to be able to compete fairly against each other'.

The Team Sweden Olympian competed in the Women's Moguls Qualification (Hannah Peters / Staff / Getty Images)

According to OutSports, there will be at least 44 publicly out LGBTQ+ athletes competing at the 2026 Milan Winter Olympics, which marks a record for the Winter Games.

Lundholm, who is the second out trans male Olympian ever, previously told the Sweden Herald that in the mogul world, he has never had a problem competing in the women's category.

"I've always been treated well," he said, while acknowledging that he's aware more media exposure means the risk of transphobia may increase.

The Olympic athlete added: "Of course, it's something I thought about. You can hear the voices out there. But then I do my thing and don't give a damn."

If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence, contact the LGBT Foundation on 0345 3 30 30 30, 10am–6pm Monday to Friday, or email [email protected]

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