Last weekend, Canadian transgender cyclist Rachel McKinnon set a world record in the women’s age 35-39 group for the 200-meter sprint, then won gold in the finals. But McKinnon’s win was overshadowed by complaints of others who spoke out about trans women participating in their catagory such as former British Masters champion Victoria Hood.

Hood told Sky News, “It is not complicated. The science is there and it says that it is unfair. The male body, which has been through male puberty, still retains its advantage; that doesn’t go away. I have sympathy with them. They have the right to do sport but not a right to go into any category they want.”

McKinnon responded to Hood’s comments in a press release by saying Hood has “an irrational fear of trans women.”

“By preventing trans women from competing or requiring them to take medication, you’re denying their human rights,” McKinnon said.

“All my medical records say female. My doctor treats me as a female person, my racing license says female, but people who oppose my existence still want to think of me as male… so, if we want to say, that I believe you’re a woman for all of society, except for this massive central part that is sport, then that’s not fair,” said the new Women’s World Champion cyclist.

To participate in competitions, McKinnon follows all regulations, including testing for testosterone levels, which she claims is so low “it’s undetectable.”

Jennifer Wagner-Assali, who won bronze behind McKinnon in 2018, but did not participate on Saturday, also voiced her complaints, “It was an unfair race, and I accepted that when I pinned on the number, and I tried to do my best to overcome the unfairness. I do feel that hard-fought freedoms for women’s sport are being eroded.”

“If we continue to let this happen, there will be men’s sports and co-ed sports, but there won’t be any women’s sports,” Wagner-Assali added.

McKinnon claims real champions don’t have issues competing against trans women, but admits that trans women are “stronger competition.”

“I have yet to meet a real champion who has a problem with trans women. Real champions want stronger competition. If you win because bigotry got your competition banned… you’re a loser.,” tweeted McKinnon.

McKinnon does believe it’s possible that trans people may have an unfair advantage in competitions.

Watch:

McKinnon is getting an influx of hate messages and believes that Donald Trump Jr. is responsible. McKinnon tweeted, “Oh, THIS explains the explosion of hate messages I’m getting!!”

“You can never be woke enough! Sorry to all female athletes who spent their lives mastering their games,” Trump Jr. tweeted. “Transgender Cyclist Who Set Women’s World Record Wouldn’t Have Qualified For Men’s Championship.”

What are your thoughts about transgender people participating in sports? Should there be a new category for transgenders?