Trans Olympian Luca Kumahara headed to Paris, this time as a broadcaster

Brazilian table tennis player Luca Kumahara broke free by affirming his identity as a transgender man two years ago. He vowed to push for a fourth Olympics, but this time in men’s competition.

The three-time Olympian didn’t make Brazil’s Olympic team for Paris, so he won’t be one of the out LGBTQ athletes competing at these Olympic Games. But he will still blaze a trail there on TV.

Kumahara will be the color commentator for Globo Television and Sportv network coverage of the Olympic table tennis events. Reportedly he would be the first out transgender person to be a part of an Olympic broadcasting team for Globo.

“London 2012, Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2021, my goal was to be there to compete once again,” Kumahara said on Instagram Monday. “Plans changed, but I had the privilege of being invited to be one of the commentators for the Paris Games 2024 and will be the first trans man to comment on Globo.”

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For the 29-year-old Kumahara, this breakthrough is his latest since coming out in 2022. Prior to announcing his transition, he won seven combined singles, doubles and team Pan American tennis table championships, in addition to his three Olympic appearances.

Prior to Tokyo, he privately decided he would move forward after the Olympics and would also compete in men’s events going forward. “That moment was crucial for me to make the decision to tell the world that people can make this adaptation,” Kumahara said in an interview with Globo in September 2022. “We can go through this transition, go through this change and I can continue doing my thing, continue living from sports.”

In March 2023, he underwent a top surgery procedure. At the World Table Tennis Championships that May, Kumahara played his final women’s tournament and started masculinizing hormone replacement theory with a goal of continuing in men’s play. Both Brazil’s national federation and the International Table Tennis Federation honored his move with full support.

His target was his nation’s championships, held in his hometown São Paulo, in December 2023. “I think the biggest pressure is from myself. Whether I like it or not, it’s hard to start over. I want to understand my emotions better,” Kumahara said to reporters after his first men’s tournament. “I know I’m a little nervous now, apprehensive, and doubtful. It’s important to take this first step; I didn’t know it would be so good for me.”

Kumahara earned a number of wins in the draw and ended up bowing in the final 16 to the eventual champion in a promising new beginning. He had played in two more tournament since his debut with various level of success. Even with the upcoming television gig in Paris, he is dedicated to moving up the men’s ranks, including heading over to Europe for highly competitive league play.

Yet, he also considers his plans for a life beyond this game as well. “It’s been a year of many physical changes that have happened to me and it’s difficult for me to have an answer in relation to my physical performance as well,” Kumahara stated in a pre-Olympic interview with Globo television in June. “I know that I have to be patient to be able to decide anything now, but at first my plan was to continue being a professional player for a while longer and I’m no longer completely sure about that, but I would like to.

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