Johnathan Walker:Transgender athlete Cat Runner is changing sport of climbing one remarkable step at a time

Cat Runner,Johnathan Walker in February of 2023, did something remarkable. He won HBO's reality program, "The Climb." The show featured a series of challenges that led to Runner earning the title of best amateur climber.

But Runner achieved something bigger than winning the competition; he brought trans representation to the sport of climbing. 

"It was a completely co-ed competition, which was really, really cool," Runner told USA TODAY. "I think I was nervous coming into it that it wasn't going to be diverse. I check a lot of boxes on the diversity scale. I'm a person of color, I'm a trans person, I'm a queer person, I'm short...So I was nervous that I was going to come in and be tokenized in that sense. But overall, the casting was great and the competition pool was amazing...And I think it was really important to show that, especially in climbing, we're all talented in our own ways..."

Runner is one of four transgender athletes profiled in a groundbreaking USA TODAY video series called "In Their Own Words." What's been clear for years is that many news organizations, politicians, doctors and others talk about trans athletes, but rarely allow trans athletes to talk about themselves. We wanted to change that.

Runner has been working to make things better for transgender athletes for some time. He won't stop anytime soon.

"I grew up being outside. I grew up moving my body," he said. "So much of that goes into who I am today and how that has shaped what I care about and particularly the relationship that I have with myself. And not that it couldn't be found without sports, but it definitely would be different. I'd be a completely different person. And I just believe that everyone should have an opportunity to experience that, to experience working with your peers, to experience competition. And so much of sports are developing a place where we can learn those skills in a critical but safe environment."