Transgender athletes: ‘Protect women’s sport,’ say two British elite athletes

The debate around transgender athletes has recently focused on the case of transgender cyclist Emily Bridges.

In March, the 21-year-old was ruled ineligible to compete in her first elite women’s race by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), cycling’s world governing body. The process to rule on Bridges’ eligibility to race in international competitions is continuing, while British Cycling has suspended its transgender policy.

Bridges began hormone therapy last year as part of her gender dysphoria treatment and has now become eligible to compete in women’s events because of lowered levels of testosterone.

She said she had been “harassed and demonised” after being told she could not compete.

Last year, New Zealand weightlifter Laurel Hubbard became the first openly transgender athlete to compete at an Olympic Games in a different sex category to that in which they were born, while in March, American Lia Thomas became the first known transgender swimmer to win the highest US national college title.

“I think by trying to have inclusion it actually excludes who the category is for,” said athlete A.

“The female category was made because women wouldn’t get a look in if they played male sport.

“We have seen at the Olympics last year trans women being included in the female category, and that then takes away an opportunity for one woman to be called an Olympian, and that is something we all dream of.”

Athlete B said: “We’ve made great strides in encouraging women into sport.

“This is actually excluding more women from sport and it will slowly turn around so then we won’t have a female category any more, but it will be just taken over by trans women who are biologically male.”

However, this is disputed by sports scientist Joanna Harper, who is transgender herself. She told BBC Sport that “trans women will never take over women’s sport”.

“If you look at NCAA [US college] sports, there are more than 200,000 women competing every year. Trans women make up 0.5-1% of the population so we should be seeing 1,000-2,000 trans women [competing in the NCAAs] every year,” she said.

“The NCAA 11 years ago allowed trans women to compete, based on hormone therapy. We should be seeing 1,000-2,000, but we see a handful every year.

“So 11 years after these hormone therapy-based rules went into effect, trans women are not taking over NCAA sports. They are still hugely under-represented.”

Both athletes say transgender athletes are welcome in elite sport and do not want to see anyone deterred from participating at any level, but add that it is a common belief among other female athletes that transgender women should not compete in women’s sport.

“I haven’t actually spoken to another athlete that doesn’t feel the way I feel,” said athlete A. “Every single female athlete I’ve spoken to is scared to speak out.”

In April, a letter signed by a group of elite female cyclists – including retired Olympians, scientists and researchers – called on the UCI to “rescind” its rules around transgender participation and testosterone levels and implement eligibility criteria for women “based on female biological characteristics”.

The letter – referring to the Bridges situation – said there was “deep regret” at the “crisis situation”, claiming female athletes in the UK “have shown they were willing to boycott” in order for the UCI and British Cycling “to hear their concerns about fairness in their sport”.

The letter included the signature of Sara Symington, head of Olympic and Paralympic programmes at British Cycling.

Later that month, Olympic cycling gold medallist Katie Archibald – who did not sign the letter – said she felt “let down” by the International Olympic Committee’s stance that there should be no assumption that a transgender athlete automatically has an unfair advantage in female events.

“I read this and hear my world titles, Olympic medals and the champions jerseys I have at home were all won in a category of people who simply don’t try as hard as the men,” she said.

World Athletics president Lord Coe has warned that the integrity and future of women’s sport is “very fragile”.