Caitlyn Jenner
Caitlyn Jenner
Caitlyn Jenner, formerly known as Bruce Jenner, is an American television personality and retired Olympic gold medal-winning decathlete. Jenner was a college football player for the Graceland Yellowjackets before incurring a knee injury requiring surgery. Coach L. D. Weldon, who had coached Olympic decathlete Jack Parker, convinced Jenner to try the decathlon. After intense training, Jenner won the 1976 Olympics decathlon title at the Montreal Summer Olympics, gaining fame as "an all-American hero". Jenner set a third successive world record while winning...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionAthlete
Date of Birth28 October 1949
CountryUnited States of America
Speed is more important than endurance in the decathlon.
Sometimes I feel so separated, you know? The Kardashians over here, the Jenners over here, little me in the middle. We've got to keep the family going.
The Montreal Olympics were in July 1976, the bicentennial, at the height of patriotism.
Decathletes have to train for every event: sprints one day, field events the next. You pump up to make yourself strong enough to throw? Try pole vaulting at 250 pounds. There are 32 guys in most decathlons, and they're in 32 little track meets.
As an athlete, my health has always been important to me.
Anti-inflammatories always seemed to work well for my joints, but the problem was you couldn't take them all the time.
I thought everybody else was doing much better than I was.
If I had not been dyslexic, I wouldn't have needed sports. I would have been like every other kid. Instead, I found my one thing, and I was never going to let go of it. That little dyslexic kid is always in the back of your head.
I had a lot of conversations with my family, my close friends, with my pastor, with God, and kind of came to a revelation that maybe I should be honest with myself about who I am and let that person - this woman who has lived inside me for my entire life - finally have an opportunity to live.
I'm so happy after such a long struggle to be living my true self. Welcome to the world, Caitlyn. Can't wait for you to get to know her/me.
So many people go through life, and they never deal with their own issues, no matter what the issues are - ours happen to be gender identity. But, how many people go through life and just waste an entire life 'cause they'd never deal with themselves to be who they are.
When you have a voice, and you have an opportunity at the world level to be able to speak, it has to be right.
It hurts every day when you practice hard, but when this decathlon is over, I got the rest of my life to recuperate. Who cares how bad it hurts?
I'm just going to go live life. I'm going to go enjoy life. I have nothing left to hide. I am kind of a free person, a free soul.