Record-setting trans runner retires ‘indefinitely’ after controversy over victory in female event

A record-setting trans athlete who won a women’s 1,500m race in Canada this week has announced she is “stepping away” from competitive running after backlash over the win.

Tiffany Newell, 50, insisted it was fair for her to compete against biological women, but said she will withdraw indefinitely due to the controversy.

She also compared efforts to ban trans women from participating in all-female events to blocking people because of their race.

Newell, who made the transition in 2017, placed first in the W50 1,500m, which is open to women ages 50-54, at the Canadian Masters Indoor Championships in Toronto last weekend. Last year, she set a new Canadian record in the 5,000m in the women’s 45-49 category with a time of 18:02:30.

Announcing his decision to step down, Newell said: “I have decided to step away from the competition indefinitely. I don’t know how long it will be, but the last thing I want to be is being at the center of controversy and feeling alienated and/or minoritised.’

Newell (left) has also set records in Canada since transitioning in 2017. Critics say trans women have an unfair advantage, but Newell disagrees.

In a lengthy Facebook post, she said the continued scrutiny surrounding her competition in women’s events had taken a “great mental and physical toll.”

Newell’s recent win came at the 12th Canadian Masters Indoor Championships. She placed first against another woman with a time of 05:07.611. The other competitor in the W50 category, Catherin Weber, finished with a time of 06:19.358.

Weber, a friend of Newell’s, has since urged her not to stop competing.

She responded to the Facebook post: ‘I don’t blame you for wanting to back off. But like the other runner… please come back.’

Newell also disputed the view that trans women have an advantage in women’s competitions due to the higher levels of testosterone they experience before transitioning. Studies have shown that the advantage is maintained even after hormone suppression treatment.

“We cannot disagree that testosterone has been scientifically proven to be beneficial in sport,” Newell said.

“However, I think, based on the test results and logical sense, this might be more applicable to young and middle-aged athletes making a gender transition, from male to female, where they are at the top of their game.” their puberty.”

She said that “as men age, their testosterone levels gradually decline,” but added that she believes “we are generations away from fully understanding this scientifically.”

Comparing the situation to blocking people based on race, he said: “When it comes to anatomical (and physiological) advantages or disadvantages, I completely disagree with this argument. Let’s take a step back in time… and review the history of ethnicity and participation in sport.

‘Some of these people were not allowed to participate in sport. Because? A debate could be: the protection of those who are already allowed to compete against the other ethnic groups who wanted to compete’.

Last year, Newell set a new Canadian record in the 5,000m in the women’s 45-49 category with a time of 18:02:30. Canadian Masters Athletics upheld the time as a record under World Athletics policy for trans athletes.

Tiffany Newell (left) has won multiple events and set a few records since making the transition in 2017.

Her success at the recent Canadian Masters Indoor Championships was highlighted by the International Consortium on Women’s Sport, a campaign group that advocates for protected categories in sport for biological women.

The policy states that the athlete must provide a signed statement confirming their gender identity and also demonstrate that their blood serum testosterone concentration has been below 5 nanomoles per liter continuously for a period of at least 12 months.

Some critics have suggested an open category to run alongside those for biological men and women, but Newell has previously said she isn’t comfortable racing against men.

Newell’s success in her latest event was highlighted by the International Consortium on Women’s Sport, a campaign group that advocates for protected categories in sport for biological women.

The ICFS noted that Newell’s 1,500m time was recorded in the World Masters Rankings as the current number one for a woman in the W50 category in 2023. No other times have yet been entered on the WMR website in that category this anus.

The ICFS asked World Athletics and World Masters Athletics why it is not ‘protecting the integrity of the women’s category’ and claimed that Newell’s entry was ‘blatant sex discrimination’.

Trans swimmer Lia Thomas is a biological male and has caused controversy in NCAA swimming

Former NFL star Marcellus Wiley recently spoke out against transgender athletes in women’s sports.

Supporters of the ICFS position said the competition was “wrong and unfair”.

The participation of trans women in women’s competitions has become the subject of fierce debate in recent years, prompting many current and former professional athletes to take a position in the debate.

Former NFL star Marcellus Wiley said earlier this month that it’s “not right” for transgender women to compete against biological women in sporting events.

The former FS1 personality highlighted how athletes like swimmer Lia Thomas, one of the most prominent trans athletes, have established themselves as the best competitors in the female categories.

A Pro Bowl defensive end in 2001, Wiley said he “has no problem with transgender people” but was offended by their involvement in women’s sports.

Retired tennis champion Martina Navratilova recently ‘misled’ trans athletes. Former Olympic gold medalist Caitlyn Jenner, who competed as a man in the 1976 Olympics before transitioning, said Thomas has “a huge advantage over the girls” he competes against.