[Editor's note:This Rewind Wednesday features the velodrome racing champion, ethics specialist, and trans athlete Dr Veronica Ivy, previously known as Dr. Rachel McKinnon. The essay was written prior to her December 2019 legal name change.]

Saturday Oct. 13 was a long day for me.

I live on the East Coast of the U.S., but I was in L.A. for the Masters world track cycling championships. My internal clock hadn’t shifted, and since I’m usually awake at 5 a.m. ET, I was up at 2 a.m. PT on the day of the semifinal and finals for my sprint event (women 35 to 44). I was a disappointing fourth earlier in the week in the 500-metre time trial. So the sprint event was my last chance at a dream: a world championship gold medal.