A United Nations report has revealed the large number of medals that female athletes have lost to trans opponents.
The study, titled “Violence against women and girls in sport,” stated that “policies implemented by international federations and national governing bodies” had allowed athletes born male to compete in women’s sports categories.
He goes on to argue that athletes born male had gender-specific attributes, such as greater strength, that were advantageous in certain sports and resulted in the “loss of fair opportunities” 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 US’s highest national collegiate 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, who became the first transgender cycling champion when she won gold at the UCI Women’s Masters Track Cycling World Championships.
It revealed that more than 600 athletes had lost more than 890 medals in 29 sports.
The document did not provide further details in which sporting events the medals were won or in what time period.
Transgender athletes who have won gold medals in sporting events include Canadian cyclist Veronica Ivy, who became the first transgender cycling champion when she won gold at the UCI Women’s Masters Track Cycling World Championships.
Another transgender athlete is American swimmer Lia Thomas, who was the first transgender athlete to win America’s highest national collegiate title when she swam for the University of Pennsylvania in 2022.
Ms. Alsalem, a Jordanian official, goes on to say that some sports federations require testosterone suppression for athletes to allow them to compete. However, he claims that this approach not only harms the health of athletes, but also preserves a number of “performance advantages” in certain sports.
The New York Post reported that Ms. Alsalem also called on the UN to provide greater protection for women and girls in sport.
Aside from transgender issues, Ms Alsalem also argued that women face other obstacles in sport. This includes social stereotypes, widespread sexism, and limited access to training facilities.
She said: ‘Women and girls already have many odds stacked against them which prevent their equal and effective participation in sports.
“In addition, their ability to play sports safely, with dignity and justice has been further eroded by the intrusion of men who identify as women into women-only sports and related spaces.”
New Zealand weightlifter Laurel Hubbard (pictured) was the first openly transgender athlete to compete in the Olympic Games when she debuted at Tokyo 2020.
During the Paris Olympics, a major dispute over gender eligibility engulfed women’s boxing around Algerian boxer Imane Khelif.
Khelif, who is biologically female and does not identify as transgender, won a gold medal in women’s boxing, but her path to the podium was filled with obstacles and controversy.
Before the Olympics, she failed two dual-gender eligibility tests administered by the International Boxing Association (IBA). However, Olympic officials, who no longer recognize the IBA, dismissed them as “illegitimate” and defended their participation.
This did not stop a row from breaking out over Khelif’s participation, with celebrities, such as JK Rowling, and other female boxers expressing 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 participate in this competition.” I am a woman like any other woman. I was born a woman, I lived as a woman, I competed as a woman, there is no doubt about that.’
A handful of transgender men and women participated in the Paris Olympics this summer, but some, like 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.