In an interview with GB News, Caitlyn Jenner said that male-to-female athletes who want to compete in women’s leagues are giving a bad reputation to transgender people and that women’s sports should be protected from this unfair competition.
Jenner points out that she’s been very consistent in speaking out against biological men competing in women’s sports. The 73-year-old retired Olympic gold medal-winning decathlete, who made a full transition seven years ago, reveals that a lot of male physical advantages are still present in her body with regards to sport. It’s not all about hormone levels, she emphasizes, as male body that has gone through puberty is undeniably unfair competition to female athletes.
Fighting to keep the sport fair for women, Caitlyn Jenner commented on the example of transgender swimmer Lia Thomas:
She’s taller, bigger hands, cardiovascular system is bigger, went through male puberty, all of those things. She just has a tremendous advantage and it’s just not fair. To be honest with you, this is bad publicity for the trans community. It really is. It makes the trans community look selfish, self-absorbed. Lia Tomas even said: ‘Well, if you accept me as a woman, that means you have to accept me as a woman athlete.’ No, that is not the case. We don’t have to accept that.
In addition, Jenner mentioned the problem of female-to-male athletes and the abundance of open questions still present in this sensitive topic. Tennis legend Martina Navratilova has also explained that absolute equality would endanger the future of women’s competition.
