Erik & Erika (2018)

The biographical film tells the story of Erik Schinegger, a ski racer from Carinthia who, as Erika Schinegger, became downhill world champion at the 1966 Alpine World Ski Championships in Portillo, Chile. Erika Schinegger is celebrated by the Austrian Ski Association (ÖSV) and regarded as one of its great young prospects. Before the 1968 Winter Olympics in Grenoble, newly introduced medical examinations reveal that she is genetically male. Born intersex, Erika had been hastily declared a girl at birth. Everyone involved is overwhelmed by the discovery. The Austrian Ski Association pressures her to undergo sex reassignment surgery to become a woman, saying she should have herself operated on to become a “real” girl. Then she could keep her medal and everything would be back to normal, while the association would be off the hook. Her parents are unable to support her and show little understanding; Erik, or Erika, is left to fend for himself. There is also suspicion that she and the association had knowingly cheated, and that the ÖSV had tried to cover everything up. Her career ends abruptly at the age of 19. She undergoes surgery and has called himself Erik ever since.