Luca Kumahara: The three-time Olympian aiming to be the next trans trailblazer

Kumahara represented Brazil at their home Olympics in Rio de Janeiro

The table tennis event at the 2022 South American Games may not have captured the attention of the wider sporting world - but for Luca Kumahara, it was a landmark.

It was the first major tournament that Kumahara had competed in since announcing he was a transgender man.

The 27-year-old from Sao Paulo has not started any medical transition and so competed in the women's event in Asuncion, winning women's singles gold and bronze in both the women's and mixed doubles. He was listed under his former name on the official tournament website.

Born in Brazil to Japanese parents, Kumahara says he has known he is a boy since childhood, but got into sport - and its gender separations - at such a young age that he could not take stock of his situation until now.

"In 2020 I told some friends that I was trans, that I wanted them to use male pronouns," he told BBC Sport.

"I only wanted to play one more Olympics, and then start treatment."

He came out to friends and family, chose a new name - "nothing really special, just a name I like; it's an easy name to spell!" - and intended to start medical transition after the Tokyo Olympics. However, the year-long postponement of the Games left him in a tricky spot.

"In the end it was difficult for me, I was in a place where some knew and some didn't, it was uncomfortable - some treating me as a girl, some in a new way," he said.

"To come out was to feel more comfortable and easy, that's why I did now rather than wait more."

'I am sad about what is happening in Brazil'

Kumahara competes in the green and yellow of Brazil; colours which have become politicised in recent years and contain additional symbolism for LGBTQ+ people given the politics of the country's president, Jair Bolsonaro.

Bolsonaro has been a vocal critic of transgender rights. In a recent speech during a visit to London for the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II, Bolsonaro said Brazil was "a country that does not accept gender ideology".

He is currently running for a second term of office, with the Brazilian general election entering a run-off between Bolsonaro and Lula da Silva.

Kumahara is undaunted.

"It is good to show we exist to resist these thoughts that he is bringing," he said.

"I am sad about things happening in Brazil, I am angry that after these last four years, I thought we would be clear about many things but people still believe in fake news. I cannot believe this is happening in my country.

"To exist, to come out now, it is a sign I am resisting. I will be competing with the Brazilian flag even if he is there."

'Competing against women is not comfortable'

Laurel Hubbard competing at Tokyo 2020 made international headlines

In coming out, Kumahara enters into one of the most toxic debates in world sport. Several sports, from rugby union to cycling, have introduced new rules regarding transgender participation, while athletes such as Laurel Hubbard, Emily Bridges and Lia Thomas have been subject to intense scrutiny and public debate.

Yet while trans women draw much of the focus, trans men have gone relatively under the radar. While Hubbard competing in the women's weightlifting event at Tokyo 2020 created headlines worldwide, Canadian trans male athlete Ness Murby finishing sixth in the discus throw at the 2016 Paralympics created less of a stir.

However, the gender categories in which trans male athletes compete remains a grey area. The most controversial case saw former high-school and college wrestler Mack Beggs win the Texas state wrestling championships in 2017 and 2018 in the female category, because state laws required him to compete in the league for the sex he was assigned at birth.

A three-time Olympian, Kumahara will continue to compete with women as he attempts to reach Paris 2024. He admits the situation is not ideal, both for the sport and for him having to delay his medical transition.

Kumahara is deliberately not setting a time or date when he is aiming to switch to play with men. Instead he wants to be pragmatic, and continue playing the sport he loves.

"It is not an easy decision, it is not the best or most comfortable situation for me," Kumahara says of competing in women's events.

"But I needed to decide what is most important for me right now. I still have goals I want to reach with the women's team.

"Also with a new coach [Reinaldo Hideo Yamamoto] we have from this year, he is working really hard with us so we have a good chance to reach a good result.

"This was a big thing in me choosing to still compete against women. It is not comfortable but I have to accept it."

'We are just people'

Kumahara says he has received plenty of love and support from within the table tennis community, including from his national federation, who released a statement in solidarity with him.

In an Instagram post on 13 September, the federation said: "We welcome you with open arms in your new identity. Nice to meet you, Luca Kumahara."

Kumahara says: "Maybe I'm too positive, but until now everything has been going good. Maybe two or three people have been saying nonsense comments, but you can see they don't know much about this.

"Also for trans women, it is much harder. It's one step for many people to understand about this world, we are normal, not sick or something. We are just people.

"Until now for me it has been OK; I don't know if I will get tired or not but I am not the kind of person who just wants to be on the sofa, not thinking about the world."

Geraldo Campestrini, chief executive of the national federation, said their goal was to "show that we are together".

"Now we are trying to expand the debate and teach people with transgender questions without judgement," he told BBC Sport.

"We are in a difficult moment in political terms, but people are good. We need to build bridges and put the human being first to build a better environment in sport."