Transgender cycist Emily Bridges Female has been told she cannot compete in National Omnium Championships in Derby on Saturday, April 2. The move came after female competitors reportedly threatened not to partake in the event Bridges was allowed to race against them and Olympic champion Dame Laura Kenny this weekend.
The 21-year-old Bridges is said to be “disappointed” that she will not be allowed to compete. The international governing body Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) declared that the trans athlete — who competed at the highest level as a male and held the UK national junior men’s record over 25 miles just a few weeks ago — was ineligible to race against biological women. Nonetheless, former Olympic swimming champ Sharron Davies accused the ruling bodies of “a blatant fudge.
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Davies’ criticism came after the UCI revealed it will convene an “expert panel” in the coming weeks to decide whether Bridges can compete in the female category. British Cycling said they still needed to review the available science, although the five British sports councils have already carried out a comprehensive review of the science six months ago.
NEW | British Cycling calls for coalition to address transgender & non-binary participation in elite sports after being informed by UCI that under their current guidelines Emily Bridges is not eligible to participate in British National Omnium Championships on Saturday. pic.twitter.com/sXu4Jmi1Lh
— Dan Roan (@danroan) March 30, 2022
“I think the very serious threat of a boycott helped hugely to concentrate their minds and cause intervention, but I’m being positive we are turning a corner,” Davies said, as quoted by the Daily Mail. “Sport is all about fairness there are ways to have inclusion without sacrificing Women’s sport. It would not have been fair to ask Laura Kenny and the other women cyclists that Bridges would have come up against to have to race a rival with the advantages of a biological man. No amount of testosterone reduction can mitigate that, but we’re being told to turn a blind eye to science and biology, to keep quiet and suck it up,” she added. Bridges will now have to wait until her current UCI registration as a male cyclist expires before she can re-register and compete as a woman.
Next month this male will be taking places & medals from biological females in Women’s races. As you can see no one is banned from sport. People should just race where their biology fits the competition. We ARE discriminating ‘against’ biological females, it’s simply wrong! https://t.co/eb3bod3sJC
— Sharron Davies MBE (@sharrond62) March 23, 2022
“We may as well just say goodbye to women’s sport now if a separate transgender category is not created,” runner Ellie Baker, who placed fourth at the European 800 meters indoor athletics championship, told The Telegraph. “Unfortunately in sport, you can’t have blurred lines. I would refuse to race and hope that the other women would stand with me on this. This is totally unfair. The advantages a trans woman has had from going through puberty as a boy to a man can never be undone,” she added.
How this has been allowed to happen is just ridiculous. I would refuse to race and hope that the other women would stand with me on this too. This is totally unfair. The advantages a trans women has had from going through puberty as a boy to a man can never been undone. https://t.co/2ALBTXozx8
— Ellie Baker (@EllieBaker1998) March 30, 2022
There has been widespread outrage over the inclusion of Bridges into the women’s category. She was originally on the Great Britain Academy program as a male rider named Zach Bridges and was an elite contender in men’s events until just last month. Bridges began hormone therapy last year and was declared eligible to compete as a woman under British Cycling’s policy, prompting her to lower her testosterone to the required levels.
Emily Bridges was born a boy, went through puberty as a boy, developed physically as a boy.
Calling him “Emily” and limiting testosterone will never change the advantages Emily has.
Biological women will suffer as a result.
This is unfair in the extreme https://t.co/elpq26WC8I pic.twitter.com/LldnXgqYr4
— Miss Jo (@therealmissjo) March 30, 2022
Despite Bridges’ ouster from the Saturday race, British Cycling put out a lengthy statement saying it recognized her ‘disappointment’ with UCI’s decision.
We acknowledge the decision of the UCI with regards to Emily’s participation, however, we fully recognize her disappointment with today’s decision. Transgender and non-binary inclusion is bigger than one race and one athlete – it is a challenge for all elite sports. We believe all participants within our sport deserve more clarity and understanding around participation in elite competitions and we will continue to work with the UCI on both Emily’s case and the wider situation with regards to this issue.
We also understand that in elite sports the concept of fairness is essential. For this reason, British Cycling is calling for a coalition to share, learn and understand more about how we can achieve fairness in a way that maintains the dignity and respect of all athletes.
Within recent years, we’ve seen huge advancements in the science and testing around elite sports, the broader scientific understanding of human biology, developments in the protection provided by the law, and crucially, greater respect for the psychological and societal challenges of those who are transgender and non-binary. This is a complex area and by uniting, we can share resources and insights.
We know that some of these conversations are happening in pockets of the sporting world, but we want to encourage all sporting governing bodies, athletes, the transgender and non-binary athlete community, the Government, and beyond to come together and find a better answer. Across sports, far more needs to be done, collectively, before any long-term conclusions can be drawn.
The statement came after the previous decision by British Cycling to allow Bridges to ride in women’s events faced a major backlash.
*story by meaww.com
