A Canadian cyclist who made headlines around the world last year after becoming the first transgender athlete to win a world title in any sport has hit back at comments made about her by Sharron Davies – by posting a picture to Twitter of the former Olympic swimmer and saying that saying that nowadays, people would be “calling her a man.”
Dr Rachel McKinnon, who won the 200 metres world title in the 35-44 women’s sprint category at the UCI Masters Track World Championships last October, was responding to comments made by Davies in recent days that transgender women “have a male sex advantage” when competing in women’s sport.
Today, she tweeted a photo of Davies and asked how the two-time Commonwealth swimming champion and winner of an Olympic silver medal at Moscow in 1980 might be perceived nowadays.
Davies had shared her thoughts on Twitter last week about transgender athletes born as men competing against women, after Martina Navratilova said it was tantamount to “cheating” – with the 18-time tennis grand slam singles winner later apologising for her comments after being accused of transphobia.
It’s clearly an emotive subject that polarises opinion on both sides, and in recent days Davies has repeatedly defended her position on Twitter, as well as in the mainstream media.
A number of replies to her posts on the social network have highlighted transgender athletes competing in women’s sport and the unfair advantage some people believe they have.
Meanwhile, other women’s sports stars have also shared their thoughts on the issue, such as Marathon world record holder Paula Radcliffe saying that she believes tougher rules are needed regarding transgender athletes.
A tweet from McKinnon last October after she won her UCI women’s Masters title sparked a heated online debate about whether it was fair for someone born as a man to compete in the event.
An assistant professor of philosophy at the College of Charleston in South Carolina, McKinnon defended her right to participate, pointing out that she did not qualify fastest in the event and that she finished fourth in the time trial.
She also highlighted that in order to compete, she was “forced to have an unhealthily endogenous testosterone value,” adding that she is “an internationally recognized expert on the science and ethics of transgender inclusion in sport.”
All good points, but sense and logic rarely get you anywhere when people have fixed views; but keep trying.
I love a resurfaced road. One on my commute was so need it basically had a trench of potholes running down it which was really dangerous. Rides...
That one used to wind me up when I was selling cars, got so fed up with it, i just quoted the original asking price....
In Australia, not only is government refusing to give any subsidy to EV purchases, they are looking how to tax people that buy EV's, as the...
That is a conversion from USD, it is a $55,000 goal. There will be a celebratory meal if we succeed but it will likely be mac and cheese while we...
Of course the van was over the white line.. if the driver had stayed within the white line, he would have actually hit the cyclist. The driver...
This road is a fucking nightmare to ride on and always has been. And I regularly ride DCs, so I'm not exactly a shrinking violet when it comes to...
Whilst I wouldn't go that far I'm rather surprised that there are 2 Condor Frames out of 7 total. I'm sure they are fab but given the range of...
Do not be taken in by Mr King's occasional posturing. The AA campaign for measures such as the fuel duty freeze, free parking and 'fair' (i.e. lax)...
This project was misguided from the outset- if those new non-disc wheels were intended for a previous bike, then use them on it. Don't lumber a new...