A British Olympian has said a biological male identifying as a woman running in the female category of the London Marathon was “wrong and unfair”. Trans athlete Glenique Frank competed in the aged 50-to-54 bracket during Sunday’s race and finished 6,160th in a field of 20,123 female runners. Olympian Mara Yamauchi said that Glenique competing in the female category gave nearly 14,000 women a lower ranking in the race than they otherwise would have achieved.
In November Frank competed as a man called Glen in the New York Marathon but was allowed by organisers in London to compete as a woman. In the men’s category his time would have been good enough to place 15,386th, the Telegraph reports.
During the race Frank was interviewed live on the BBC wearing a sports bra and rainbow arm warmers. The trans runner flexed their biceps and declared during the interview on Tower Bridge that “I’m going to be a granny” and “girl power”.
Frank said the race on Sunday was their “17th marathon”
Olympic marathon runner Mara Yamauchi told Telegraph Sport because of Frank being allowed to compete as a woman thousands of female athletes placed lower than they should have.
She said: “Nearly 14,000 women finished in a worse finish position because of him.
“World Athletics and UK Athletics have rules that post-puberty males competing in the female category is unfair. This male competed under UK Athletics’ transitional arrangements, but it is still wrong and unfair.”
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Last month both UK Athletics and World Athletics announced a ban on transgender athletes competing in any events licensed by the organisations.
In a statement in Monaco in March for World Athletics, Lord Sebastian Coe said: “The council has agreed to exclude male-to-female transgender athletes who have been through male puberty from female world-ranking competitions.
“In January, World Athletics said it was consulting with member federations on a proposal to change the rules on participation of transgender women in female competitions.
“The issue is thorny as sports try to strike a balance between inclusivity and making sure there is no unfair advantage.”
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