Former rugby sevens player Ellia Green has come out as a trans man.
The Australian retired from the sport last year and has suffered with serious mental health issues since then.
Green made the announcement in a pre-recorded video shown at a summit on ending homophobia and transphobia in sport.
The 29-year-old said: “I promised myself that when my rugby career ended, I would continue to live the rest of my life in the identity and the body that I know I am meant to be in.”
“I just knew it was going to be the most liberating feeling when I had that surgery and to be in the body I knew I had to be,” he added.
“That was a bright spark in my mind during these dark times facing demons, but I knew there was light at the end of the tunnel.”
Green continued: “The one thing that did keep me positive is that I had already planned my surgery and treatment towards my transition. It was something I was counting down the days with my partner.”
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He won a gold medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
Green made history by being the first Olympian to come out as a trans man.
The only other trans or non-binary Olympic gold medallists are Caitlyn Jenner and Canadian football star Quinn, who won gold at the 2020 Tokyo games.
Trans women were blocked by World Rugby from competing in women’s rugby union.
The international competition prevented rugby league players who have transitioned from participating in international competition.
The decisions have been condemned by trans advocates.
Green retired from the sport at the end of 2021 after failing to make the Australian women’s sevens team for the Tokyo Olympics.
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