A report from the United Nations has revealed the huge number of medals female athletes have lost to trans opponents.
The study – titled ‘Violence against women and girls in sports’ – stated that ‘policies implemented by international federations and national governing bodies’ had allowed athletes born male to compete in women’s sporting categories.
It goes on to argue that athletes born male had gender specific attributes, such as higher strength, which were advantageous in certain sports and resulted in the ‘loss of fair opportunity’ for biologically female competitors.
Reem Alsalem, the UN special rapporteur on violence against women and girls, presented the findings of her report to the UN General Assembly earlier this month.
And this included the incredibly high number of biologically female athletes who had lost medals to transgender athletes.
American swimmer Lia Thomas who was the first transgender athlete to win the highest US national college title when she swam for the University of Pennsylvania in 2022.
Transgender athletes who have won gold medals in sporting events include Canadian cyclist Veronica Ivy became the first transgender cycling champion when she won gold at the UCI Women’s Masters Track Cycling World Championships
It revealed that over 600 female athletes had lost over 890 medals across 29 sports.
The paper didn’t elaborate on at what sporting events the medals were won, or over what time frame.
Transgender athletes who have won gold medals in sporting events include Canadian cyclist Veronica Ivy became the first transgender cycling champion when she won gold at the UCI Women’s Masters Track Cycling World Championships.
Another transgender athlete is the American swimmer Lia Thomas who was the first transgender athlete to win the highest US national college title when she swam for the University of Pennsylvania in 2022.
Ms Alsalem, a civil servant from Jordan, goes on to say that while some sports federations mandate testosterone suppression for athletes in order to let them compete. However, she claims that only might this approach harm the health of the athletes, they also retain a number of ‘performance advantages’ in certain sports.
The New York Post reported that Ms Alsalem also called on the UN to provide stronger protections for women and girls in sport.
Aside from the transgender issues, Ms Alsalem also argued that women face other obstacles in sport. This includes social stereotypes, pervasive sexism and limited access to training facilities.
She said: ‘Women and girls already have many odds stacked against them that impede their equal and effective participation in sports.
‘In addition, their ability to play sport in conditions of safety, dignity and fairness has been further eroded by the intrusion of males who identify as female in female-only sports and related spaces.’
New Zealand weightlifter Laurel Hubbard (pictured), was the first openly transgender athlete to compete in the Olympics when she debuted at Tokyo 2020
During the Paris Olympics, a major gender eligibility row engulfed the woman’s boxing surrounding Algerian boxer Imane Khelif.
Ms Khelif, who is biologically female and does not identify as transgender, went on to win a gold medal in women’s boxing but her road to the podium was a bumpy one filled with controversies.
Before the olympics, she failed two two gender eligibility tests administered by the International Boxing Association (IBA). However, olympic officials – which no longer recognise the IBA – dismissed these as ‘illegitimate’ and defended her participation.
This did not prevent a row from breaking out over Ms Khelif participation, with celebrities,such as JK Rowling, and fellow female boxers voicing their opposition to her continued inclusion in the tournament.
When she won the gold medal – beating China’s Yang Liu – she said: ‘I am fully qualified to take part in this competition. I’m a woman like any other woman. I was born a woman, I lived a woman, I competed as a woman, there’s no doubt about that.’
A handful of transgender men and women took part in the Paris olympics this summer but some such as New Zealand weightlifter Laurel Hubbard, who was the first openly transgender athlete to compete in the Olympics when she debuted at Tokyo 2020, did not compete this year.
