Leon Reuterström

Leon Reuterström
Born (1996-11-30) 30 November 1996 (age 28)
Uppsala, Sweden
Height 1.72 m (5 ft 8 in)
Weight 63 kg (139 lb; 9 st 13 lb)
Position Goaltender
Caught Left
Played for Leksands IF
Almtuna IS
Playing career 2011–2018

Leon Reuterström (born 30 November 1996) is a Swedish former ice hockey goaltender and advocate for transgender inclusion in sports. From 2012 to 2018, he played for Leksands IF Dam in the Swedish Women's Hockey League (SDHL; previously called Riksserien), the top flight of Swedish women's hockey, before coming out to the public as a transgender man and retiring to pursue his medical transition.[1]

Playing career

Reuterström began his career with Almtuna IS of the Division I (renamed Damettan in 2015) and women's ice hockey AllEttan (Swedish: AllEttan i ishockey för damer). In 2012, he signed with Leksands IF, splitting the 2012–13 season between the team's top Riksserien side and the B-side playing in Damettan. He established himself fully as a top-side goaltender the next season, and would take over as Leksands' starting goalie in 2015.

In 2018, he publicly came out as a transgender man and announced his retirement from the SDHL in order to pursue his medical transition, as testosterone hormone replacement therapy conflicts with anti-doping rules in the sport.[2][3]

Since his retirement, he has been outspoken about the difficulties trans people face in sports.[4][5][6] In 2020, he returned to the ice for the first time in two years to participate in a charity match.[7]

International

Rueterström represented Sweden at the 2014 IIHF World Women's U18 Championship, playing one game and posting a .941 save percentage.[8]

References

  1. ^ Ehn, Anna (1 August 2019). "Hockeyn var hans liv – fick sluta för att komma ut". Svenska Dagbladet (in Swedish). ISSN 1101-2412. Retrieved 8 November 2020.
  2. ^ Skoglund, Henrik (25 April 2018). "Leksandsmålvakten lägger av – kommer ut som transsexuell". HockeySverige (in Swedish). Retrieved 8 November 2020.
  3. ^ Ros, Tomas (8 September 2018). "Leon gav upp sin hockey för att byta kön: "Jag har hittat hem"". Aftonbladet (in Swedish). Retrieved 8 November 2020.
  4. ^ Andersson, Anna (3 August 2019). "Leon Reuterström om livet under könskorrigeringen". Aftonbladet (in Swedish). Retrieved 8 November 2020.
  5. ^ ""Idrotten måste göra mer för transpersoner"". Helsingborgs Dagblad (in Swedish). 1 August 2019. Retrieved 8 November 2020.
  6. ^ Isberg, Emma (5 October 2020). "Många transpersoner måste välja: idrotten eller identiteten". Sveriges Radio (in Swedish). Retrieved 8 November 2020.
  7. ^ Ögren, Vendela (23 April 2020). ""Förmodligen hade jag inte levt i dag"". Expressen (in Swedish). Retrieved 8 November 2020.
  8. ^ Rönnkvist, Ronnie (10 February 2016). "Ännu en spännande målvakt på stjärnhimlen: "Haft sms-kontakt med Boork"". HockeySverige. Retrieved 8 November 2020.