Trans cyclist Rachel McKinnon: It would be unfair to exclude me from female competition

Golden moment: McKinnon celebrates her title in 2018
@rach​elvmckinnon
Tom Dutton18 October 2019

Transgender cyclist Rachel McKinnon believes it would be "unfair" to exclude her from female competition as she prepares to defend her track world title in Manchester on Saturday.

The Canadian, who won the 35-44 sprint crown at the Masters Track Cycling World Championships in 2018, has defended her right to compete as a female in the wake of a new study which suggests testosterone suppression does little to reduce muscle strength.

"All my medical records say female," she told Sky News. "My doctor treats me as a female person, my racing licence says female, but people who oppose my existence still want to think of me as male.

"There's a stereotype that men are always stronger than women, so people think there is an unfair advantage. By preventing trans women from competing or requiring them to take medication, you're denying their human rights."

A study by Sweden's Karolinska Institute claims hormone treatment barely reduces the leg strength of women who were born male.

And McKinnon, who is favourite to retain her title at the National Cycling Centre, has acknowledged that, as a transgender women, she may have a physical edge over her fellow athletes.

"Is it possible? Yes it is possible. But there are elite track cyclists who are bigger than me," she said.

"There is a range of body sizes and strength, you can be successful with massively different body shapes. To take a British example, look at Victoria Pendleton, an Olympic champion with teeny tiny legs.

"In many Olympic disciplines the gap in performance is bigger between first and eighth in a single sex event than it is between the first man and the first woman."

The decision to let McKinnon race alongside cis female (people whose gender identity matches the sex that they were assigned at birth) competitors has been criticised by some track rivals, with Victoria Hood, who is not in action in Manchester, previously declaring: "The science is there and it says that it is unfair."

My point is that trans inclusion is fairness, it is unfair to exclude trans women.

Jen Wagner-Assali, who finished third behind McKinnon at the World Championships in 2018, also called her gold medal triumph "unfair".

But McKinnon, 37, believes the opposite. "My point is that trans inclusion is fairness, it is unfair to exclude trans women," she said. "This is much bigger than sport, it's a proxy for all of trans inclusion in society."

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