Donna Rose in Bay Area Reporter

Sports history was made over the weekend in an arena in Cleveland. No public announcement or trumpets were sounded, no press reports appeared in the local papers, and the sparse audience in attendance was for the most part unaware of the significance of the event transpiring before their eyes. But in little more than a minute's time, the interval between two shrill blasts of an official's whistle, the walls of intolerance in the sports world lost one more brick. When Donna Rosen, who last wrestled in a tournament bracket match in 1970 during the Canadian Olympic trials, pinned Missouri Valley wrestler Paloma Basulto in the U.S. Open Women's Freestyle Wrestling Championships Friday at Cleveland State University, it was believed to be the first time a transgender woman had competed in a mainstream-sanctioned women's wrestling event.

The victory in the women's 72-kilogram (158.75 pounds) quarterfinals, followed immediately by a congratulatory hug from her coach, Olympian Melvin Douglas, and a celebration in the stands with her own personal cheering section, ultimately secured Rosen a berth in the world team trials this summer in Iowa.

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