Transmasc trio places third at Ironman triathlon: "I felt my inner child just explode out of me"https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2026/03/transmasc-trio-places-third-at-ironman-triathlon-i-felt-my-inner-child-just-explode-out-of-me/ 🔗John Russell (31 March 2026)
Days after the International Olympic Committee announced its ban on transgender women competing in women's events, a trio of transmasculine athletes took third place in an Ironman triathlon in Oceanside, California.
Schuyler Bailar, Chella Man, and Cal Calamia, who make up Team Iron Transmasc, say that attacks on trans people's participation in sports were heavy on their minds going into the March 28 Athletic Brewing Ironman 70.3 Oceanside, where they finished third in the men's division, according to Out.
But that didn't stop them from reveling in trans joy.
"We were cracking up about the 'transition zone,'" Calamia said of the designated areas where competitors transition between swimming, cycling, and marathon portions of the event. "Been there, done that!"
"We were just playing — splashing in the ocean, doing cartwheels, piggyback rides," Calamia said. "I genuinely haven't felt this amazing in a very long time. I felt my inner child just explode out of me."
Ahead of the competition, Bailar told the Out that the IOC announcement was devastating "because it sends a message that sports are going to lead through discrimination, as opposed to being on a progressive way of moving humanity forwards, which is what they should be doing."
Bailar echoed sports journalist and author Katie Barnes's assertion that discussions about "fairness" in relation to trans women's participation in women's sports are "a red herring."
"This concept of trans athletes being the singular thing that threatens fairness in sports is predicated upon the false conception that there currently exists fairness in sports," Bailar said.
