COPPER MOUNTAIN, Colorado – One of the priceless moments in freestyle skier Jay Riccomini’s life happened this year in Switzerland, when he was recognized on the podium for third place in a major global competition.
It was a groundbreaking performance – and the announcer used the correct pronouns.
“I just thought, ‘It took some time to get there. But we did it,'” he said.
About July 20, 2021Riccomini, then 17 years old, announced on social media that he was a gay transgender man who from then on would use the pronouns he and him. “I want the world to know who I am and who I am meant to be so I can carry on openly,” he wrote.
Now 20 years old, he is on top of the world: in January, he came third in a World Cup Slopestyle competition, an event that features skiers twisting and turning down a mountain slope full of rails, bumps, and jumps. He also finished third in two other events last season, giving him third place in the overall slopestyle standings. He was recently promoted to the USA Freeski pro team. And he is being mentioned as an Olympic candidate for the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Games.
As part of his transition, Riccomini underwent state-of-the-art surgery more than a year ago to create a masculine appearance. But he decided to hold off on testosterone use until the end of his career to remain compliant with regulations. He still competes in women’s events and will continue to do so if he makes Team USA’s Olympic roster.
Riccomini says she has received nothing but support from the freestyle skiing world since announcing she is trans.
“I thought I would have to give up my hopes and dreams,” he said. “People exceeded my expectations, for sure.”
But he also recognizes that the path to becoming Jay Riccomini was neither easy nor straightforward.
“It’s not a linear line. It’s a rollercoaster ride through it all,” he recently told the Associated Press in one of his first interviews with a national media outlet.
From a young age, before he even realized what he was, Riccomini began to suffer from gender dysphoria, when a person’s gender identity does not match the sex assigned at birth. But he kept it a secret.
The mountains provided a refuge and an escape. Growing up in Port Matilda, Pennsylvania, he spent many winter weekends with his brother at Tussey Mountain, which featured a park filled with jumps and trails.
On several occasions, his family also traveled to Copper Mountain, Colorado, where coaches at Woodward, a training camp for children interested in action sports, recognized his talent.
But not being able to share his secret weighed heavily on him and eventually led to depression so severe that not even the mountains could save him. His parents also didn’t know the depth of his struggles.
“I just wanted Jay to be happy, and Jay was unhappy for so many years,” said his mother, Andrea. “That was the hardest part for me, that he was unhappy for so long.”
Rock bottom reached age 17, while Riccomini was attending a winter sports school in Park City, Utah. He missed classes. His grades suffered. And in perhaps the most worrying sign that something was wrong, he was frequently absent from the park, one of his favorite places.
“When people saw that I wasn’t there, they thought, ‘Where are you?’” Riccomini said. “I was depressed. I wasn’t eating. It wasn’t good.”
Even when he had a memorable moment – finishing 18th in his World Cup debut in Aspen in March 2021 – he wasn’t able to truly celebrate. He was under his old name. Every time someone referred to him as “she”, he became anxious.
“I just felt like I was going to throw up,” he said.
He decided to act.
First, he told a close friend he was trans. So he changed his pronouns in his Instagram bio to “they/them” and told more teammates and friends. Shortly thereafter, while skiing, he invented a new name.
“I was like, ‘Should I call myself Jake, Jack or Ace?’” he said. “I thought, ‘Jay – Jay is perfect.’ It’s just easy” – and it happened to echo his father’s middle initial, J.
Teammate Colby Stevenson started calling him “Jay-Bird.”
“I like it,” Riccomini said. “I really like that.”
With his name in place, Riccomini went public on Instagram, writing that he “was constantly feeling trapped in my own body.”
The announcement freed him, transforming his anxiety into hope and happiness.
“Seeing him happy,” said his mother, “is priceless.”
At a World Cup event in February 2023, the International Ski Federation used Jay Riccomini’s new name in its results for the first time.
“It is our duty to do everything in our power to ensure he feels included and respected in our competitions,” the federation’s director of integrity, Sarah Fussek, said in a written statement to the AP. “As an institution that represents snow sports around the world, for everyone, we have a moral obligation to do so.”
Skiing in the USA & Snowboard also expressed support.
“His dedication to the sport has resulted in multiple podiums from a young age,” Sophie Goldschmidt, USSS president and CEO, said in a statement. “We know he will continue his success on the world stage over the coming years. .”
Riccomini’s mission now is to open doors for other transgender athletes and inspire them in the same way he has been motivated by others.
“This young athlete fought and earned the right to be seen with his results,” said Rook Campbell, a trans athlete and professor in the areas of advertising, sports, globalization and media at the University of Southern California. “Visibility is powerful.”
As difficult as her journey has been, Riccomini knows it’s even harder for trans women. After swimmer Lia Thomas became the first openly transgender athlete to win an NCAA Division I national championship, World Water Sports effectively banned transgender women from competing in women’s events. World Athletics, the athletics governing body did the same.
Transgender girls are also banned from competing in girls’ high school sports. in several Republican-led US states, where some lawmakers argue they have an unfair strength advantage over cisgender girls. People on both sides point to limited research to support their views.
Thomas Is someone Riccomini admires it — he even wrote a paper about her experience for a civics class.
“I can’t imagine the impact on his mental health,” Riccomini said. “She’s just amazing.”
Campbell said it is sometimes easier for transgender men to speak out and be accepted than it is for transgender women. He said he thinks it’s “great to use this privilege.”
“I just wish it was broader,” he said.
As happy as he is, Riccomini realizes that his transition won’t be fully complete until he can take testosterone, something he knows will help alleviate his gender dysphoria. But for now, just being publicly recognized as Jay is enough.
“When people call me ‘he,’ I get a warm feeling in my stomach,” he said. “This overwhelming wave of happiness that flows through my body, knowing that everyone sees me now as I am.”
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