Caitlyn Jenner said her rise to Olympic stardom was helped by the internal battles that saw her bury herself in training.
The 70-year-old, who transitioned in 2015, was catapulted to international fame in 1976 following the Montreal Olympic games where she won gold in the decathlon and broke the world record.
But speaking to Daily Star Online, Caitlyn said her determination to smash the athletic field stemmed from her personal battles, struggling with her identity.
She said: “As I look back on my life – the impact and why did I do that.
“I think about it all the time, why was I so obsessed, train so hard to do that and accomplish that.”
Caitlyn exclusively revealed to Daily Star that her determination in the Olympics stemmed from personal identity battles (Image: Daily Star)
Parent-of-six Cait added: “It had a lot to do with who I was and the things I was running from, I want to put that on public perspective.”
“The Olympics had a tremendous impact on my life and I’m incredibly proud of those achievements.”
Caitlyn revealed to us that during her athletic career, she “learned a lot” about herself while struggling with her gender identity.
“I learnt a lot about myself, it’s actually interesting, my perspective today because obviously I’ve been through a lot, my identity, over the years,” she divulged.
As Bruce, Caitlyn became the worlds most celebrated Olympic athlete (Image: Getty Images)
Discussing her transition she said: “I finally got all this stuff straightened out and life is wonderful. I just wake up in the morning and be myself every day, I don’t have to play any games.”
When speaking about her legacy and newfound fame as a reality TV star, she questioned if her “younger” audience knew about her achievements.
After a chance meeting with a fan of the show, Cait revealed he had no idea that she had previously competed in the summer games.
He said ‘wait, you were in the Olympics? I didn’t know that,’ and I joked and said: “‘well, I actually won and broke the world record that day.’”
Caitlyn joked that younger fans may not know about her Olympic legacy and plans to share her history on YouTube (Image: WireImage)
Speaking about her new army of fans, she added: “They just think of you as Kendall, Kylie, Kim, Khloé and everyone’s parent – that’s all they know you as.”
After taking home a gold medal, Caitlyn went on to become a household name and starred in a famous Wheaties advert campaign, which she hopes to resurface.
“Maybe I should remind everyone what happened back in 1976, it was a long time ago,” she joked.
Caitlyn’s new YouTube channel is available to view now at youtube.com/CaitlynJenner
Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
