Transgender cyclist sweeps women's competition

The winner, Tiffany Thomas, criticized the media: "The underlying goal of these articles is to create friction rather than unity within our community."

atleta trans ganó en la categoría femenina de la prueba ciclista Randall’s Island Criteriums — (Screenshot)

Published by

Alejandro Baños

24 de marzo, 2023

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A trans athlete won the women's category of the Randall's Island Criteriums cycling race, held last Sunday in New York. Tiffany Thomas, whose birth name was not revealed and who competes for the LA Sweat team, dominated the race from the start.

Several media outlets around the world reported on Thomas' victory. In a post uploaded to the cyclist's Instagram account, Thomas noted that articles were written with the intent "to bully and harass transgender athletes (in this case me) to make our lives as miserable as possible so that we would quit the sport."

"The underlying goal of these articles is to create friction rather than unity within our community. Transsexuals are human beings and deserve respect. Inclusion policies are a work in progress; bullying, harassment and threats of violence have no place in this process," Thomas said.

Other similar cases

This situation is reminiscent of others such as that of Lia Thomas. This trans swimmer went viral after winning a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) women's championship. Several of Thomas' rivals, such as Riley Gaines, complained about the unequal physical conditions:

We watched from outside the pool as Thomas won the national title in the 500-meter freestyle, defeating the most impressive and established female athletes in the country, including women who held national and Olympic records, and considering that the year before, Thomas, at best, was ranked in the top 400 male swimmers in the country.

The most controversial case is that of Laurel Hubbard. This trans athlete represented New Zealand at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in women's weightlifting. Hubbard did not medal at the event and announced retirement shortly after. Hubbard is the first trans athlete to compete in the Olympics.

Another trans cyclist, Canadian Rachel McKinnon, competed in the International Cycling Union (UCI) Women's Masters Track World Championships. McKinnon finished third in the competition, and the cyclist went so far as to label it "unfair" and called on international cycling committees to change their rules.

Transgender minors banned from participating in women's competitions

A federal court upheld the Save Women's Sports law enacted in West Virginia. With it, transgender minors are prohibited from participating in women's sports. The judge noted in his order that "the inherent physical differences between the sexes" give biological males an advantage over females.

Initially, the judge blocked the measure, but he later recanted on the grounds that "a person's sex is natural and dictates the physical characteristics that are relevant to athletics."