Bruce Jenner, the Olympic gold medal-winning decathlete, transitioned into a woman and that decision caused quite a stir back in the day.
Jenner, a father of five, including two of the sisters of the Kardashian clan, Kylie and Kendall, was forced to undergo several surgeries in order to achieve her feminine looks. Before having the most important surgery of all, gender reassignment surgery, Jenner had her beard removed and got breast implants.
Wanting to be an inspiration for others who are afraid to confess how they truly feel about themselves, Jenner wrote a book, “The Secrets of My Life” where she wrote, “The surgery was a success, and I feel not only wonderful but liberated. So why even consider it? Because it’s just a penis. It has no special gifts or use for me other than what I have said before, the ability to take a whiz in the woods. I just want to have all the right parts.”
The former elite athlete, however, still believes that the “old Bruce” is still inside her.
Born in Mount Kisco, New York, on October 28, 1949, Jenner suffered from dyslexia as a child but it was sports that saved her life.
Growing up as Bruce, she was into many sports and excelled in most of them, but it was track and field she was best at. Jenner was given a football scholarship from Graceland College in Iowa, but after suffering an injury she turned to being part of the track team.
Ever since the school days, Jenner experienced issues with gender identity.
“I look at guys and I go…’ He’s comfortable in his own skin,’” Jenner recalled. “And I thought, ‘Wouldn’t that be a nice way to go through life?’ I look at women all the time thinking, ‘Oh my God, how lucky are they that they can wake up in the morning and be themselves. But me, I’m stuck here in the middle.”
In 1971, Jenner achieved a surprising victory at the Kansas Relays and earned a spot on the US Olympic team in the following year, where she secured the tenth position in the Munich Olympic Decathlon.
Recognizing the significance of her achievement, she understood there was room for improvement in her performance. Consequently, she embarked on an intense training regimen, dedicating eight hours each day for the subsequent four years to practice.
Eventually, she geared up for the 1976 Summer Olympics held in Montreal, Canada.
At the age of 26, she won the decathlon at the Olympics, setting a new world record with 8,618 points on July 30, 1976.
Against the backdrop of the tumultuous period marked by the aftermath of the Vietnam War, the Watergate scandal, and other pressing national issues, Jenner’s Olympic gold medal took on immense significance. Jenner emerged as a symbol of American resilience and strength, something like a superhero.
