Meet the Trans Athletes Competing on This Season of "American Ninja Warrior"

[tulipsandroses]

So much discussion about trans athletes. Its never about trans males

NBC’s American Ninja Warrior has long celebrated resilience, strength, and heart and this season, two trailblazing athletes are making sure that trans visibility is part of that legacy. Clayton and Jenson, the first out trans men to be featured on the hit competition series, are using their platform to redefine what it means to compete, represent, and inspire.

For Clayton, competing on American Ninja Warrior was about more than physical strength. “When people find out you’re trans, they usually see a label or assume weakness,” he shared. “But for me, being transgender has been the most powerful part of my story. It’s what taught me to stand up for myself, to choose my own path, to become the man I am.”

Though new to the sport, Clayton trained relentlessly to prepare for his run, knowing he wasn’t just competing for himself. “Getting to show up as my full self on national TV… that’s not just for me.,” he said. “That’s for every kid who’s been made to feel like they’re too different to chase something great.”

Jenson, who first appeared on the show in Season 10 before coming out publicly, returned this season with a renewed sense of purpose. “Doing it now, in 2025, hits differently,” he said. “In a year where trans visibility and our right to exist have been under attack, it felt more important than ever to step up, be seen, and remind people that trans folks belong everywhere including in sports.”

https://glaad.org/meet-the-trans-athletes-competing-on-this-season-of-american-ninja-warrior/

[RandomNumbers]

1. It will never be about trans male athletes

Because there is either

a) no risk of a trans male winning over a male-at-birth for reasons associated (correctly or not) with each athlete's assigned sex at birth.

or

b) zero or near-zero risk of a born-male complaining about it if they get beat by someone who was born female.


I normally stay away from the trans topic but we need to be quite clear on this point. Parents of non-trans girls will scapegoat a trans female athlete who beats their little darling in a sports competition, regardless of the biological accuracy of their belief. (I am not technically competent to judge the accuracy or not. But the perceptions are a real problem, and scoffing at it doesn't help.)

[tulipsandroses]

2. I guess you've never heard of Triathlete Chris Mosier or boxer Patricio Manuel

Chris has made the US team many times over.
He is a 4 time national champion.
Patricio made history in 2018 as the first trans male to compete professionally. He won. Then his career tanked because men were afraid to get in the ring with a "girl" -
Either they refused to give him a fight out of sheer discrimination or there was a real fear of being laughed at because you were beaten by a " girl".

[dsc]

3. I don't watch the show

but I get the idea from clips that the course is the same regardless of gender. Is that accurate?