Irish Olympic medalist Sonia O’Sullivan has become the first Irish female high-profile athlete to speak out on the issue of transgender competitiors – usually athletes who are biologically male or born male – taking part in women’s sports.
“Sebastian Coe, president of World Athletics, made the point over the weekend that the integrity of women’s sport is at stake here, and the focus should be on the science. But it’s not just about setting rules around testosterone levels, it’s also the physical size and ability of the person. If you’re bigger and stronger you’re going to be better, whether you’re a big, strong woman or a big, strong man. Size definitely matters,” the former Irish champion wrote in the Irish Times today.
“For me the only solution is to front up on the matter, not sit on the fence here, and decide that transgender athletes cannot be allowed into women’s events. We need to be certain about this,” she said.
The issue, long controversial, gained additional traction last weekend after a swimmer, Lia Thomas, won gold at the prestigious NCCA swim championships. Born male, Thomas, who is a fifth-year senior at the University of Pennsylvania, went by the name of Will and swam for the men’s team until 2019, with some success but never becoming close to being a national champion.
Thomas underwent hormone-replacement therapy during the Covid lockdown, and was permitted by the NCCA rules to compete in the women’s team in the 2021–2022 season, where the swimmer dominated the female competition. Last weekend, the transgender athlete finished first in the 500-yard freestyle (beating two Olympic medalists).
There was uproar, and not just on social media where a photo told a thousand words.
How can anyone in their right mind think this is fair?? I don't care if someone wants to be Trans, good for them! But don't tell me it's fair for biological women athletes… where is the uproar for women's rights? #LiaThomas #NCAASwimDive pic.twitter.com/xb2bR2b10M
— Jason Torpey (@JTorpey) March 18, 2022
Everyone in this picture knows that 1st, 2nd, and 3rd places are standing together on the right.#LiaThomas #LiaThomasIsAMan #LiaThomasCheats pic.twitter.com/XJNvOqaEYD
— Helvidius Priscus (@HelvidiusPrisc) March 18, 2022
“The incongruous image of University of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas – the first transgender athlete to win the NCAA title in the women’s 500-yard freestyle – towering over the biologically female runner-up while being booed by the Atlanta crowd sums up the total madness of our times,” the Daily Mail reported.
Tensions increased as a chorus of voices, including swimmers in the NCCA championships, spoke out at what they saw as an unfair new playing field against women.
British swimmer Sharron Davies wrote in The Mail on Sunday: ‘Lia has been taking testosterone-suppression medication for the required last 12 months, as stipulated in the NCAA rules, but no amount of it can reverse the physical benefits of male puberty.
‘She has greater upper-body strength and significantly more muscle mass than a woman of the same weight and height. She has a greater lung capacity, better VO2 uptake, different bone density, she is nearly 6ft 4in tall and has large hands and feet that act like paddles.’
One of Thomas’s teammates also went public with concerns at feeling awkward at sharing a locker room because ‘Lia still has male body parts and is still attracted to women’.
Hungarian-born swimmer Reka Gyorgy has also written a furious letter to the NCAA who allowed Thomas to enter the women’s race. ‘This is my last college meet ever and I feel frustrated. It feels like that final spot was taken away from me because of the NCAA’s decision to let someone who is not a biological female compete,’ she wrote.
‘Every event that transgender athletes competed in was one spot away from biological females throughout the meet. I ask that the NCAA takes time to think about all the other biological women in swimming, try to think how they would feel if they would be in our shoes. Make the right changes for our sport and for a better future in swimming,” she said.
This is an issue that will not go away.