During coverage of the women’s moguls competition at the Milan Winter Olympics, commentators on an international feed streamed by NBC on Peacock repeatedly misgendered Swedish skier Elis Lundholm — the first openly transgender man to compete in a Winter Olympics and only the second out trans male athlete in Olympic history.
Lundholm burst out of the gate with intensity, attacking the course with purpose. He navigated the first jump cleanly, executed his style element, and pushed aggressively into the next set of moguls. But a slight overcorrection sent him off line, forcing him to recover and costing him valuable time in the qualification round.
The stumble on the snow was quickly followed by another misstep — this time from the broadcast booth.
“Getting off course here though… oh she just skids out of that gate,” the color commentator said on the stream. “She’s going to hop up and go around to make sure she does not DNF as she continues down the line here.”
The moment immediately drew backlash online, especially given Lundholm’s historic status heading into the Games. Just five years ago, NBC commentators faced similar criticism for misgendering skateboarder Alana Smith during the Tokyo Olympics.
She competed in women’s competition & she lost.
NBC repeatedly misgendered trans Olympic skier Elis Lundholm
NBC Sports commentators misgendered the first out trans athlete at the Winter Olympics, skier Elis Lundholm. How did this happen?https://t.co/N6ZaXYgCsH— Jacobs Ladder (@duanepoole) February 12, 2026
NBC responded swiftly after the incident.
“NBC Sports takes this matter seriously,” the network said in a statement to Outsports. “Today we streamed an international feed with non-NBCUniversal commentators who misgendered Olympian Elis Lundholm. We apologize to Elis and our viewers, and we have removed the replay of that feed.”
Lundholm is competing in the women’s category under International Ski Federation rules, which allow participation if an athlete has not begun masculinizing hormone replacement therapy. Similar guidelines were applied during the Paris 2024 Olympics, including for Filipino boxer Hergie Bacyadan.
While the complexities of transgender participation continue to spark debate within the International Olympic Committee, the issue in Milan centered on accuracy. The public address announcer at the venue correctly referred to Lundholm as “he” and “him” throughout the event.
“NBC repeatedly misgendered trans Olympic skier Elis Lundholm…How did this happen?”
HOWWWWWWWW?!?!?!
Calling a woman a woman while covering a women’s event is actually quite normal. And expected.
Funny how “he” isn’t competing against the men, innit? pic.twitter.com/J638JyA4g7
— Greg Scott (@greg_scott) February 12, 2026
The IOC is currently navigating mounting pressure over its long-term policy on transgender inclusion, particularly as Los Angeles prepares to host the 2028 Summer Olympics. But critics argue that whatever broader policy debates may exist, correctly identifying an athlete is a basic standard of professional coverage.
Lundholm, meanwhile, remains focused on competition.
He has another chance in Wednesday’s qualification round to ski into the finals and potentially contend for a medal — and an even larger place in Olympic history. Speaking to Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet last month, he made clear that outside noise will not dictate his performance.
“Of course it’s something I thought about. You can hear the voices out there,” Lundholm said. “But then, I do my thing and don’t give a damn.”
The spotlight now returns to the course. For Lundholm, it is another opportunity to carve his path forward. For broadcasters, it is a renewed test to ensure the story being told matches the history unfolding in real time.
