GB athletes fear they will be next
CONCERNS are growing among leading athletes that track and field could soon become embroiled in the transgender debate.
On the back of the furore around Lia Thomas in US college swimming and the controversy surrounding British cyclist Emily Bridges, both of which followed Laurel Hubbard’s participation for New Zealand in the weightlifting at Tokyo 2020, athletics stars fear their sport will eventually enter a similar storm.
A current British international athlete, who has won medals at global level, told The Mail on Sunday: ‘I think it’s a situation that could happen in any sport, and it is a challenge that could happen in athletics. Just as it’s happened in swimming and cycling and weightlifting.’
Speaking on the condition of anonymity, based on fears of a social media backlash, the athlete added: ‘We don’t want to exclude trans women from sport — it’s just making sure that the female category remains a level-playing field for female-born athletes. Being able to stand up for that doesn’t mean you don’t want people to express themselves in a way they feel comfortable.’
The trans cyclist Bridges broke her silence on Friday evening after she was excluded from the women’s section of the British National Omnium Championships, which was being held on Saturday.
Several riders had discussed boycotting the event in protest over fears Bridges had an unfair advantage. The 21-year-old, who had been ruled ineligible by cycling’s governing body, the UCI, claimed she had met their criteria and feels ‘relentlessly harassed and demonised’ by the media. While athletics in this country is yet to have experienced a high-profile case, the trans hurdler CeCe Telfer won a US college title in 2019 and was last year blocked from contesting the US Olympic trials via the sport’s eligibility criteria that mandates testosterone levels must be below five nanomoles per litre for a period of 12 months.
A second British Olympian, who also wished to remain anonymous, said: ‘I do believe it’s really important for trans men and women to be involved in sport. But I just don’t see a way of having trans women in the female category from a fairness point of view.
‘My view wouldn’t be specific to athletics, but more the general principle of the debate.’
The comments come after a number of British athletes took the rare step of discussing the issue on social media in the past week.
British international 800m runner Ellie Baker tweeted: ‘I’d refuse to race and hope that the other women would stand with me on this too.
‘This is totally unfair. The advantages a trans women has had from going through puberty as a boy to a man can never been undone.’
Her comments were supported by GB team-mates Emily Diamond and Beth Dobbin, as well as 1992 Olympic champion Sally Gunnell.
European medallist Laura Weightman added on Twitter: ‘Years of male hormones give clear long-term physiological advantages despite reducing testosterone to lower levels. This is a complex issue that isn’t just about one individual.’
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) came under attack last year after their framework for transgender athletes removed the guidance for testosterone reduction and left regulation in the hands of international federations.
That approach has been criticised by former British marathon runner Mara Yamauchi, who also believes testosterone suppression will never be sufficient on its own as a means of ‘protecting’ biological females in sport. She told The Mail on Sunday: ‘In terms of what happens next, I think you can forget about the IOC — they have proved themselves unwilling to show leadership. The international federations need to stand up for women’s sport and set clear rules.
‘There is a lot of equivocation at the moment around testosterone suppression. I reject that, because there are features of male advantage which will never change under testosterone suppression.’