ICYMT: Triathlon became the first British sport to ban all transgender women

Swimmers during swim leg Photo by Getty Images

UK Triathlon is a multisport race endurance consisting of swimming, cycling, and running. It is noted that all competitors compete for the fastest overall completion time, racing each segment sequentially with the time transitioning between the disciplines included. In July they came out and banned all transgender women from competing. Due to this decision, UK Triathlon became the first sports event in British to ban all transgender women from competing in female competitions.

It was all merry for transgender women until America's Lia Thomas and Britain's Emily Bridges happened. Thomas came into the spotlight in swimming and Bridges in cycling respectively when they crushed all historical records that were available in front of them.

"We believe that triathlon is a gender-affected sport and that means that athletes who were born male have an advantage over athletes who were born female and this advantage is big in the swim, bike and run,’ We also concluded that physiological advantages are retained by testosterone suppression. The new policy will require two categories - a female category, which will be open to athletes who are female sex at birth, and an open category, which will be available to all athletes, including men and transgender athletes. This is a subject that many, many governing bodies are in discussion on and considering what to do about,” said British Triathlon chief executive Andy Salmon

As per a statement from British Triathlon "Our policy outlines that Triathlon is a sport for everyone and that transphobic behavior will not be tolerated. It confirms that Triathlon is a gender-affected sport and so for competitive events (those races that have prizes, times, and/or rankings) for athletes over the age of 12, there will be two categories; a Female Category, (for those who are the female sex at birth), and an Open Category, (for all individuals including male, transgender and those non-binary who were male sex at birth,” the statement said.

“We started this process at the end of 2021 and went through a period of independent consultation earlier this year to explore options for categorization into triathlon competition in Great Britain. This ensured that along with the latest research, we heard from our community, key groups, and individuals about their views and experiences,” it added.

Although they left the men's category open in which all trans athletes may compete, the new rule set will trap only women categories.

The new rules that will be effective by January 2023 aim to ensure that a level playing field is enforced at all timed, ‘competitive events’ starting at 12 years of age and upward to the professional level. This new rule is set to supersede the 2018 policy which allowed trans women to compete if they had suppressed testosterone.