Two transgender cyclists came first and second in a women’s cycling event in Chicago last week.
Tessa Johnson, 25, won first place in the Women’s SingleSpeed and Cat Half categories of the Chicago CrossCup, while Evelyn Williamson, 30, placed second in the SingleSpeed at the October 7 contest.
The winning has prompted calls for stricter rules on such events to be implemented
The Mail Online reports: The transgender pair made headlines earlier this year for sweeping the competition at several women’s races amid debate over the inclusion of transgender athletes in women’s sports.
In the women’s SingleSpeed race, Johnson took the gold and Williamson took silver, leaving only one biological female on the podium, Allison Zmuda, who won bronze.
Johnson also placed first in the women’s Cat Half, winning $150 in prize money. Williamson placed fourth in that race, receiving a $75 prize.
The CycloCross Cup took place at Jackson Park in Chicago, Illinois from October 7 to 8, and held more than a dozen different competitions for men, women, and junior athletes.
On their website, the Chicago CrossCup said they welcome transgender athletes and that they follow USA Cycling’s Transgender Athlete Participation policies, which allows participants in non-elite races to self-select their gender.
The race organisers said: ‘The CCC has always been first and foremost about fostering a positive & supportive community built around competitive CycloCross racing, and that means welcoming and challenging everyone who wants to contribute to the series and make it better.’
They noted: ‘Discrimination or harassment of any kind on the basis of race, color, religion, age, gender, sexual orientation, gender identification, national origin, sportsball team affiliation, or any other stupid idea someone comes up with to belittle others will not be tolerated.’
Williamson and Johnson won the Racing-Athletic Relay Cross in Chicago on August 27 – competing under the team name ‘TS-ESTRODOLLS’ in reference to the female hormone estrogen.
According to infowars, the event has previously drawn scores of women to enter, but this year only four actual women entered:
Johnson beats the women by 2 1/2 minutes, 4 women enter the race that usually draws over 20 women. @usacycling is killing off our grassroots development of women, ignoring UCI policy. https://t.co/hqEjdhVjiB
— Inga Thompson Fdn OLY💚🤍💜 (@ithompsonfdn) October 9, 2023
The event organisers say that they follow the rules of USA Cycling’s Transgender Athlete Participation policies, calling it “stupid” to discriminate on the basis of gender identification.
Their website states “The CCC has always been first and foremost about fostering a positive & supportive community built around competitive cyclo-cross racing, and that means welcoming and challenging everyone who wants to contribute to the series and make it better.”
It continues, “Discrimination or harassment of any kind on the basis of race, color, religion, age, gender, sexual orientation, gender identification, national origin, sportsball team affiliation, or any other stupid idea someone comes up with to belittle others will not be tolerated.”
So, calling for men to be banned from competing in women’s events “will not be tolerated.”
Transgender cyclists take gold AND silver medals at Chicago women's race, as critics insist pair had considerable biological advantage over female rivals https://t.co/qiDRxknw14 pic.twitter.com/b2hsIiCxCO
— Daily Mail US (@DailyMail) October 13, 2023
These guys aren’t even trying anymore 🤦🏻♂️
— WestCoast_Life (@westcoast_lyfe) October 13, 2023
Exactly right- women will self exclude because of all these males competing. So once again- by including, you are excluding. Sex categories actually increase inclusion- if they remain male(open) and female only!!! https://t.co/BlVZTHPtQk
— Martina Navratilova (@Martina) October 9, 2023