New Transgender Rules Will Give Disadvantage to Women Athletes
- ANTARA FOTO/Sigid Kurniawan
VIVA – Recently, the World Athletics has proposed continue to allow transgender women to compete in female international track and field events. But, the British shot putter, Amelia Strickles says this plan will give a serious disadvantage to women athletes.
The World Athletics Federation has an idea that allows transgender women to compete at the international level. But of course, there are conditions that must be met, one is the testosterone threshold.
"The effects of hormones, and hormone replacement will not eliminate the advantages of male puberty and that will put us, women, at a huge disadvantage," Amelia Stickler said.
Strickler who is yet to compete against a transgender athlete at an elite level, claimed: "It is happening at the grassroots level in Parkruns and club-level athletics. It is a ripple effect, one person taking a woman's place and those results, it all matters to people...this will be in elite athletics sooner than we think."
Stickler hopes that big-name athletes will also speak out. Some have already spoken to him, but not enough to change the International Athletics Federation's mind.
"The more support we get on this, hopefully, regulations will be put in place to protect us and our sport. Athletics is not football; we don't make a lot of money. Contracts and funding are important. Many people don't want to jeopardize that, and don't want to be called transphobic," Amelia Strickler explained.