Who is Chelsea Wolfe? Olympian cyclist under fire over celebrating Charlie Kirk's assassination

A cyclist named Chelsea Wolfe is under fire for seemingly celebrating right-wing activist, author, entrepreneur, and media personality, Charlie Kirk’s September 10 assassination.

Wolfe is a freestyle BMX cyclist who represented the USA in the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics, according to Outkick.

On her first Instagram Story posted on Wednesday, Chelsea reposted USA Today’s snippet about Charlie Kirk’s fatal shooting and captioned it with a “We did it” sticker of the children’s animated character, Dora the Explorer. The post was accompanied by the Laced song, Live, Laugh, Kill N*zis from the album Step Off!

The follow-up IG Story had the words, “The ‘find out’ era looks good on him,” written in white against a black background. Another Story showed Chelsea Wolfe with a smiling selfie and holding her thumbs up. It was captioned:

"Being a N*zi is completely optional, btw. He didn't have to do all that, but he did, and now he's dead. Don't live your life in a way that the world is better following your death."

Wolfe’s posts sparked online outrage, including calling out USA Cycling, the national governing body for cycling, for not addressing the controversy. Team USA, aka the Olympic and Paralympic body of the USA, was also condemned. Calls to boycott Chelsea were also heard on social media, including X.

"Chelsea Wolfe is vile and disgusting," a netizen wrote.

“Where is the official statement from USA Cycling in the Cole statements from Chelsea Wolfe. Your silence means you don't condemn, but rather condone those statements. Perhaps the White House should get involved. Your team will be booed and jeered at all races going forward!!!” a user wrote.

“This is disgusting! This does not represent the US, and neither should this...whatever. We are better than this evil. What are you going to do about this? @TeamUSA,” an individual wrote.

“Chelsea Wolfe should be stripped of all awards,” wrote another.

The BMX freestyler also took to TikTok and shared posts about Charlie Kirk’s killing, including reposting a video of a fellow TikToker speaking about mass shootings, Outkick reports.

"Still waiting on Kirk's response," she captioned, with an eyes emoji and a crying laughing emoji.

Former tennis player Martina Navratilova has also since condemned Wolfe's reaction to Kirk's murder by calling it "sickening" in a post on X.

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Exploring the life and career of Chelsea Wolfe amid her Charlie Kirk remarks and subsequent outrage

Chelsea Wolfe was born in May 1993 in Lake Park, Florida. She grew up in a family of BMX riders and began cycling as a 6-year-old. Later, Chelsea attended the University of Central Florida and pursued a career as a BMX freestyle cyclist.

Wolfe, 32, competed with male cyclists for years before coming out as a trans woman in 2014, according to the transponder.community website. She also qualified for the 2019 World Cup before securing the fifth position at the UCI (Union Cycliste Internationale) BMX World Championships in 2021.

Chelsea Wolfe became the first openly trans athlete to qualify for the Olympics from the USA, after securing a spot as an alternate on the women’s team for the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics.

In 2023, she was blocked from contesting in the SuperWorlds, aka the UCI BMX World Championship in Scotland, because the UCI put a ban on trans women athletes from competing in women’s teams. This also ruined her chances to qualify for the 2024 Summer Olympics.

Chelsea tried to reach a legal resolution to the UCI ban. Meanwhile, the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee supported her. In August 2024, during an interview with SELF Magazine, Wolfe was quoted as saying :

“Getting rid of the very few of us who are out there is absolutely just taking away the next generation’s ability to see themselves in these positions and want to push themselves to get to that level too. The repercussions are going to be felt for generations.”

The San Diego resident continued: “I wish I could say that I was surprised that they went through with a ban, but I was surprised by the inhumane way that they did it. For them to make this rule change, implement it [almost immediately], two weeks before the world championship.”

Chelsea Wolfe claimed that she felt as if her heart was ripped out of her throat and her entire world collapsed with no warning. She also spoke of the financial fallout, adding, she had to become a bike mechanic at REI to provide for herself, while dealing with suicidal thoughts and other mental health challenges.

The cyclist is a volunteer for the Florida nonprofit Jack the Bike Man, which refurbishes old and damaged bikes and donates them to the underprivileged BMX riders and cyclists.

Speaking to bicycling.com in August 2023, Wolfe shared that she is autistic and grew up in an abusive home. She also mentioned enjoying life in California, riding with a group of women in San Diego, training her grandmother to ride BMX, spending time in the mountains, binge-watching television, scrolling social media, and clicking photos with her girlfriend.

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Charlie Kirk, 31, was shot in the neck and killed while on stage at a Turning Point USA event at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, on September 10. His shooter continues to remain at large, while a manhunt is on. He is survived by his wife Erika and their two children.