Olympic rugby champion Elia Green comes out as transgender

Elia Green was born at an early age, long before he became an Olympic champion, through human identity and the gender assigned at birth. , will be very different.

Now, nearly 20 years later, one of Australia's gold medal-winning Australian women's rugby sevens team stars has turned men's.

Green, who keeps the same name, told the Associated Press that it was the best decision of his life. Recognizing that sharing his experience could save the lives of others is what Green was compelled to publish on video On Tuesday, it was shown to attendees of the International Summit on Ending Transphobia and Homophobia in Sport, which will be held in Ottawa as part of the Bingham Cup rugby tournament.

Other transgender or gender-diverse Olympic gold medalists are Caitlyn Jenner and Quinn only. Under one name, she was part of Canada's winning women's soccer team in Tokyo last year. Since we made the decision to ban them from playing, we have seen very few elite-level trans athletes and so many negative comments on social media. Hastened Green's push to highlight that these could harm some children.

Most importantly, it is an attempt to draw attention to serious health problems. One study found that more than 40 percent of transgender youth had attempted suicide.

Green, 29, has admitted she will be in a "dark place" after retiring from rugby at the end of 2021.

"This is what happened to me," said Green. AP. "My rugby career was nearly over and I was in and out of mental health facilities due to serious issues. My depression took a new level of grief."

He's in better shape now with partner Vanessa Turnbull Roberts and young daughter Waitui.

"Vanessa was pregnant and she had to come to the hospital to visit," said Green. "I had a terrible episode. This is the last time I want her to see me like that. But the only way to heal it is to talk about it.."

The story was difficult at times. Assigned female at his birth, Greene was adopted by Yolanta and Evan Greene and emigrated from Fiji to Australia at the age of three. Seeing Yolanta abused in another relationship, recalling memories of her domestic violence during his childhood, Green said: - Lasting trauma.

"I think I knew from an early age that it wasn't the kind of relationship I wanted to have after seeing it, but I know how a woman should be treated." It's been like this," Green said. "I believe there was much to be learned from even traumatic situations."

For Greene, childhood was also marked by overwhelming awareness.

"When I was a kid, I remember thinking he was a boy in public. He had short hair and every time I met someone new I thought he was a boy." ,” says Green. "I was always wearing his brother's clothes, playing with tools, and running around without a shirt. Until my breasts grew, I was like, 'Oh no.'

"My mother made me wear girly clothes. I always wanted to please my mother, so when she asked me to wear a dress, I Yolanta also helped guide Green into the sport, and his excellence as a track and field sprinter eventually led to a professional career in rugby. Her all-action rugby sevens made her Olympic debut in Rio de Janeiro in 2016, the first women's tournament to be held, where Australia defeated New Zealand in the final to win her first ever gold medal. Flying winger Green was one of the stars of the show.

But all the while Green's deeper feelings became clearer and she really peaked after announcing her decision to retire from rugby last November. That was months after she missed out on Australia's women's team selection for the postponed Tokyo Olympics.

"After finishing my career as an Australian rugby player, I spent a lot of time indoors. It was a dark room and I didn't have the confidence to meet anyone."

"I was ashamed of myself. I felt like I had let many people down, especially myself and my mother. It was heartbreaking.” After being excluded from the Olympic team. "What kept me positive was that I had already planned the surgery and treatments for the transition. It was a countdown to my days with my partner."

Now Green emphasized the harm that could be caused if sports bans were introduced, and how those policies could amplify negativity towards transgender and gender-diverse people, citing other

"Banning transgender people from sports is shameful and hurtful," says Green. "This will only mean that suicide rates and mental health problems will get worse."

Green's comments refer to research by the University of British Columbia in Canada and Monash University in Melbourne, Australia. Released at the same time as the announcement, it marks a disconnect between rugby coaches and women playing rugby. The survey found that about 30% of women believe transgender women have an unfair advantage, yet the vast majority do not support banning transgender athletes from rugby.

Playing or coaching rugby at any level is not on Green's radar right now. He currently works at his terminal in Sydney International Containers, "on the quayside," he says, but is studying for a university degree in international security, and is studying general security and cyber he has the ambition to advise companies on their security.

For now, Green says he's "a full-time dad, and that's hard, maybe hard." We also credit our partner Vanessa. "She inspires me every day."

Green said her story inspired other transgender people to feel confident in their decisions about who they wanted to be. I hope you will.

"When I had that surgery, I thought it was going to be the most liberating feeling. It allowed me to be in a body that I knew I had to." "It sparked a bright spark in my heart during this dark time when I was facing demons, but I knew there was light at the end of the tunnel."

He added in a telephone interview with AP. I will live the rest of her life as her dad.