Tiffany Thomas, a 47-year-old transgender female, won a New York City cyclist. Thomas is also a…biologist.
This is Thomas’s 20th victory. Thomas started racing in 2018 when aged 42. Some people are not thrilled. How did Thomas become so elite in only five years? How did Thomas manage to get into “Category 1 which is considered an elite level under USA Cycling rules?”
Champion Hannah Arensman quit the sport over the issue:
I have decided to end my cycling career. At my last race at the recent UCI Cyclocross National Championships in the elite women’s category, I came in 4th place, flanked on either side by male riders awarded 3rd and 5th places. My sister and family sobbed as they watched a man finish in front of me, having witnessed several physical interactions with him throughout the race.
Arensman continued:
“Additionally, it is difficult for me to think about the very real possibility I was overlooked for an international selection on the US team at Cyclocross Worlds in February 2023 because of a male competitor.”She said that it “has become increasingly discouraging to train as hard as I do only to have to lose to a man with the unfair advantage of an androgenized body that intrinsically gives him an obvious advantage over me, no matter how hard I train.”“I feel for young girls learning to compete and who are growing up in a day when they no longer have a fair chance at being the new record holders and champions in cycling,” she wrote.“I have felt deeply angered, disappointed, overlooked, and humiliated that the rule makers of women’s sports do not feel it is necessary to protect women’s sports to ensure fair competition for women anymore,” she wrote in the filing.
The USA Cyclung website has rules for transgender athletes on its website:
“Those who transition from female to male (FTM) are eligible to compete in the male category upon providing a written and signed declaration acceptable to the UCI Medical Manager. It is the responsibility of athletes to be aware of current WADA/USADA policies and to file for appropriate therapeutic use exemptions,” the first rule states.”Those who transition from male to female (MTF) are eligible to compete in the female category under the following conditions:The athlete has declared that their gender identity is female.””The athlete must demonstrate that their total testosterone level in serum has been below 2.5 nmol/L for a period of at least 24 months.””The athlete’s total testosterone level in serum must remain below 2.5 nmol/L throughout the period of desired eligibility to compete in the female category.”
This is becoming the norm.
CLICK HERE FOR FULL VERSION OF THIS STORY