Olympic athlete Chelsea Wolfe, who qualified to represent the U.S. as a BMX Freestyle alternate rider at this year’s summer Olympics in Tokyo, said last year that she wants to win an Olympic medal ... for an unusual reason.
She said she wants to burn an American flag while accepting the award.
"My goal is to win the Olympics so that I can burn a US flag on the podium. This is what they focus on during a pandemic. Hurting trans children," Wolfe said via Facebook on March 25, 2020. The post was accompanied by a link to a PinkNews story about the Trump administration's stance on transgender girls in female athletics. Wolfe identifies as a transgender woman and will be the first transgender woman to go to the Olympics for the U.S.
However, she later claimed her post stating her intentions in no way means she doesn’t care about her home country, according to a statement she made to Fox News.
"Anyone who thinks that I don't care about the United States is sorely mistaken," Wolfe told Fox News. "One of the reasons why I work so hard to represent the United States in international competition is to show the world that this country has morals and values, that it's not all of the bad things that we're known for. I take a stand against fascism because I care about this country, and I'm not going to let it fall into the hands of fascists after so many people have fought and sacrificed to prevent fascism from taking hold abroad. As a citizen who wants to be proud of my home country, I'm sure as hell not going to let it take hold here."
Wolfe made another post earlier this month talking about what it meant to qualify as an alternate for the Olympics.
The International Olympics Committee’s policy specifies that anyone who transfers from male to female can compete in the female category. The policy also says that the athlete must have declared her gender identity and cannot change it for a minimum of four years.
IOC policy also states that the athlete must demonstrate that her total testosterone level is below a specific measurement for at least 12 months before her first competition and that "the overriding sporting objective is and remains the guarantee of fair competition."
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Wolfe will travel to Japan for this summer’s Olympics and serve her country as an alternate.