Two transgender cyclists came first and second in a women’s cycling event in Chicago last week.
Tessa Johnson, 25, won first place in the Women’s SingleSpeed and Cat Half categories of the Chicago CrossCup, while Evelyn Williamson, 30, placed second in the SingleSpeed at the October 7 contest.
The winning has prompted calls for stricter rules on such events to be implemented
The Mail Online reports: The transgender pair made headlines earlier this year for sweeping the competition at several women’s races amid debate over the inclusion of transgender athletes in women’s sports.
In the women’s SingleSpeed race, Johnson took the gold and Williamson took silver, leaving only one biological female on the podium, Allison Zmuda, who won bronze.
Johnson also placed first in the women’s Cat Half, winning $150 in prize money. Williamson placed fourth in that race, receiving a $75 prize.
The CycloCross Cup took place at Jackson Park in Chicago, Illinois from October 7 to 8, and held more than a dozen different competitions for men, women, and junior athletes.
On their website, the Chicago CrossCup said they welcome transgender athletes and that they follow USA Cycling’s Transgender Athlete Participation policies, which allows participants in non-elite races to self-select their gender.
The race organisers said: ‘The CCC has always been first and foremost about fostering a positive & supportive community built around competitive CycloCross racing, and that means welcoming and challenging everyone who wants to contribute to the series and make it better.’
They noted: ‘Discrimination or harassment of any kind on the basis of race, color, religion, age, gender, sexual orientation, gender identification, national origin, sportsball team affiliation, or any other stupid idea someone comes up with to belittle others will not be tolerated.’
Williamson and Johnson won the Racing-Athletic Relay Cross in Chicago on August 27 – competing under the team name ‘TS-ESTRODOLLS’ in reference to the female hormone estrogen.
According to infowars, the event has previously drawn scores of women to enter, but this year only four actual women entered:
The event organisers say that they follow the rules of USA Cycling’s Transgender Athlete Participation policies, calling it “stupid” to discriminate on the basis of gender identification.
Their website states “The CCC has always been first and foremost about fostering a positive & supportive community built around competitive cyclo-cross racing, and that means welcoming and challenging everyone who wants to contribute to the series and make it better.”
It continues, “Discrimination or harassment of any kind on the basis of race, color, religion, age, gender, sexual orientation, gender identification, national origin, sportsball team affiliation, or any other stupid idea someone comes up with to belittle others will not be tolerated.”
So, calling for men to be banned from competing in women’s events “will not be tolerated.”