NBC apologises after commentators repeatedly misgender trans Winter Olympian Elis Lundholm

NBC has apologised after commentators covering the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics repeatedly misgendered Swedish skier Elis Lundholm during women’s moguls coverage.

Lundholm, 23, made history this week as the first transgender man to compete at a Winter Olympics and only the second openly trans male athlete ever to appear at the Games. 

The Team Sweden athlete’s qualifying run began strongly, with a clean opening jump and confident pacing through the early moguls before a technical error pushed him off line and ended hopes of a stronger score.

“We apologize to Elis and our viewers, and we have removed the replay of that feed” – NBC said of Elis Lundholm’s misgendering

His performance was overshadowed, however, by commentary on the international feed, where a colour analyst repeatedly used incorrect pronouns while describing the run.

“Getting off course here though… oh she just skids out of that gate. She’s going to hop up and go around to make sure she does not DNF as she continues down the line here.”

The broadcast sparked criticism online, particularly given previous Olympic coverage controversies around gender identity. NBC later confirmed the footage came from an external international feed rather than its own commentators and said the replay had been removed following complaints.

“NBC Sports takes this matter seriously,” NBC told 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’s participation has drawn global attention in recent days

Lundholm’s participation has drawn global attention in recent days as debates around transgender inclusion in sport continue to evolve. The International Olympic Committee does not set one universal eligibility rule, instead leaving decisions to individual governing bodies. In freestyle skiing, athletes can compete in the women’s category under federation rules if their registered sex remains female, regardless of gender identity. 

The skier has not begun masculinising hormone therapy, meaning he currently meets those regulations. Similar eligibility frameworks have allowed other athletes to compete in categories aligned with their assigned sex at birth at recent Games.

During the moguls event itself, the venue announcer used correct pronouns, highlighting the contrast with the televised commentary.