Austin Killips' — seen here at the cyclo-cross event in January — winning the Tour of the Gila leaves cycling and the wider sporting community with problems to solve. Photo: Belga/David Pitens. winning the women's edition of the Tour of the Gila in the United States is the largest cycling race ever won by a transgender rider and sparked new debate about guarantees of fairness in women's competition.
Telegraph Sport explores how and why some of the biggest sports remain divisive after years of controversy over a toxic and divisive issue.
What is the policy on cycling and how is it different from other sports?
While swimming and athletics have effectively barred pubescent male athletes from competing in women's elite events, the International Cycling Union (UCI) has only partially tightened its rules for the participation of trans women in the women's category. British cyclist Emily Bridges was not allowed to compete in the British National Omnium Championships last year after testosterone rules were tightened at the 11th hour.
However, the rules still allow trans women to compete if they have low testosterone levels. 2.5 nanomoles per liter for the previous two years.
Emily Bridges was denied a place at an omnium in Britain last year championships. Photo: Getty Images/Huw Fairclough
Phillips' victory this week in the Tour of the Gila, New Mexico's premier road race, was immediately described as a sporting victory for Leah Thomas. the moment is a reference to an American trans swimmer. Killips, who only started cycling in 2019 before starting hormone replacement therapy, earned nearly £8,000 finishing first overall in the women's standings, plus an £800 bonus as 'Queen of the Mountains'. .
Is it possible that the rules will be tightened again?
While some LGBT activists still argue that the ongoing crackdown amounts to discrimination, other campaigners argue that last year's rule change did not go far enough. Maria Blower, who represented the UK when women cyclists were first allowed to compete in the 1984 Olympics, is one of the campaigners who said the new categories were the only solution as trans women are already «bathing in testosterone». before transition.
However, Blower acknowledges that this issue needs to be approached with caution. Bridges, who studied at the British Cycling Academy in 2019 and came out as a transgender woman in October 2020, said the attention had taken a significant toll on her mental health. "So much hate and criticism that I just don't look at it" she said earlier. "I know it's happening and I try to keep it moving, but that's easier said than done"
British Cycling has been analyzing the situation for over a year now and there is speculation that the body will be tougher on this issue than the UCI.
British Cycling's head of Olympic programs Sarah Symington was among those who signed a letter to the UCI last year , which stated that trans women should not be allowed to compete in women's competitions in order to «guarantee fairness for female athletes».
Why does sportsmanship remain the same? chances?
Differences in approach are largely due to the fact that the leaders of the Olympic Games adhere to the principle of «one size fits all». will not work in different sports disciplines. In November 2021, the International Olympic Committee released the "concept" on this matter, leaving eligibility decisions to the discretion of individual sports organizations, but adding that “until proven otherwise, athletes should not be considered to have an unfair or disproportionate competitive advantage due to their variation in gender, appearance and/or transgender. status".
In the two years since New Zealand weightlifter Laurel Hubbard became the first transgender athlete to compete in the Olympics in a gender category other than that assigned at birth, the rules of most major sports have been revised.
Laurel Hubbard at the competition in Tokyo. Photo: Reuters/Edgard Garrido
Some sports have decided to allow trans women to compete if they lower their testosterone levels to levels seen in cycling in recent years. However, with new scientific evidence showing that transgender women retain an advantage in strength, endurance, power and lung capacity, World Athletics has joined World Rugby, World Aquatics and the Rugby Football League in announcing tougher rules.
The World Athletics President Seb Coe acknowledged that the decision would be controversial, but said his sport is guided by an «overarching principle» of fairness.
«Decisions are always difficult when they involve conflicting needs and rights between different groups , but we remain of the opinion that we must uphold fairness for female athletes above all other considerations,” he said. «We believe that the integrity of the women's category in athletics is paramount.»
What about the grassroots?
While athletes like Hubbard, Thomas, and now Killips have garnered the most attention in elite sports, it's unlikely that women in lower-level non-contact sports will change much. Most international rule changes across sports only affect elite competitions, with autonomy given to national governing bodies to enforce their own rules in domestic competitions.
The government has said it has been less concerned about the participation of trans athletes in low-level women's sports in recent years. Recently, however, tensions have arisen at the grassroots level. Glenick Frank, a biological male who identifies as female, has apologized for running the London Marathon in the women's category, allegedly taking advantage of a loophole in UK Athletics' updated transgender policy to enter.
Profile: who is Austin Killips ?
Transgender cyclist Austin Killips won the Tour of Gila in New Mexico just two years after becoming a full-time athlete. «My big dream is to one day ride the Women's Tour de France.» the 27-year-old Chicago resident told the Cycling Tips website last year. “I would like to race Roubaix and cobbled classics. These races are institutions and I have watched them for years. Now I focus on these races"
Killips earned a mechanical degree from a trade school in Oregon and initially worked in a bicycle shop. She first bought a cyclo-cross bike to compete in early 2019. That same year, she was reportedly undergoing hormone replacement therapy as part of a sex change.
She described a «slow creep of something.» I feel out of my element" while on drugs, but in 2021 she quickly rose through the ranks, prompting her to compete in the Jingle Cross World Championship.
However, her appearance on the cyclocross circuit was one of the reasons why Hanna Arensman, a 35-time national cyclocross winner, recently retired from the sport.
Killips' the name gained wider attention in March after Hannah Arensman quoted it in a Supreme Court document explaining why she retired from the sport at 24. Arensman lost on the podium to Killips in the national final in December, later accusing her transgender opponent of repeatedly pushing her during the race, a claim Killips denied.
“I have decided to end my cycling career,” Arensman said. “My sister and family wept as they watched a man finish in front of me who witnessed several physical interactions with him during the race. I sympathize with the young girls who are learning to compete, who no longer have a chance to become the new record holders and champions in cycling because the men want to compete in our division.”
Killips, however, had previously said, «I'm not an activist, but I can't separate myself from my identity and how others will perceive me.» There are transporters and people with whom I communicate. People come up to me and tell me that what I do has meaning and meaning to them."
On Sunday, Killips, who started racing in 2019, is also racing in cyclocross, won her biggest ever race, finishing eight seconds ahead of Mexican racer Marcela Prieto in stage five to lead the overall standings by one minute and 29 seconds. Killips rides for the Amy D Foundation, an organization created in memory of American cyclist Amy Dombroski that «encourages and supports young women to ride a bike».
After winning the tour, she wrote on Instagram: “After a week of nonsense on the Internet, I am especially grateful to everyone in the peloton and sports who continue to say that Twitter is not real life. I love my peers and competitors and am grateful for every opportunity to learn and grow as a person and as an athlete on the track together.”
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