Female transgender athletes are banned from competing

It has been decided by the Management Committee of the International Cycling Federation (UCI) that female transgender athletes will not be allowed to participate in women’s competitions. The rule comes into effect from the 17th of July this year. The order is that female transgender athletes who transitioned after male puberty are barred.

The decision came after Austin Killips, a transgender woman, won a cycling event, the Tour of the Gila, in the United States. The episode was viewed negatively by fans and athletes of the sport. At the time, Austin was within competition regulatory standards, which specified that trans cyclists had their testosterone levels at 2.5 nanomoles per liter or gender transitioned no more than 24 months prior to entering women’s events.

_{Austin Killips in the event he won in the USA (Photo: Reproduction/Instagram/@Austin_trace)}

The president of the International Cycling Federation, David Lappartient spoke about the chosen decision. According to him, the Federation fully respects and supports the right of any person to choose the gender that corresponds to their identity. However, Lappartient stated that the Federation must guarantee, above all, equality of opportunities for all those who want to compete in cycling events and that, therefore, as the current state of scientific knowledge does not guarantee such equality of opportunities between transgender athletes and cisgender women, just in case,”we will not authorize it to compete in the female categories”, said the president of the International Cycling Federation.

In a scientific study, the UCI, claimed that the concentration of testosterone at levels of 2.5 nmol/L together with two years of hormone therapy are not capable of completely eliminating the benefits of testosterone during puberty in men.

This is not the first time that trans athletes are barred from practicing any modality for showing superiority. In March of this year, the Athletics Federation also banned transgender women from participating in women’s competitions.

Featured photo: Athlete in the Olympic track cycling modality / Reproduction: Ge