(June 19th, 1948 – ): #ErikSchinegger, born in Austria, was well-known in the 1960s as a ski champion, though as a woman – Erika Schinegger. Born #intersex, Schinegger was raised as a girl and competed in ski competitions for most of his life, winning the women’s downhill world championship title at 17 and being awarded the World Champion Gold Medal in 1966, as well as winning the World Cup Race in 1967.
Before the 1968 Winter Olympics in Grenoble, Schinegger underwent a medical examination, discovering that he was genetically male (called pseudohermaphroditism, being born with inverted genitalia), and decided to have gender affirmation surgery, changing his name from Erika to Erik.
The 1966 World Champion title Schinegger had been awarded was not stripped from him, but the committee decided to award the then runner-up Marielle Goitschel the gold medal. In 1988, Schinegger gave his own gold medal to Goitschel, but she refused to accept.
Schinegger still lives in Austria and owns a children’s ski school and two inns. He has a daughter and two grandsons. His life was portrayed in the 2018 film “Erik & Erika.”
#LGBTQIA #PrideMonth #YouCannotEraseUs
Legends of Pride 