Transwoman takes women's world record

[Pepvixen]

Rachel McKinnon has tweeted that Rachel has taken the women's 200m indoor cycling world record.

It makes me so angry for the women who have trained so hard to have to compete against male bodied athletes.

wow, that photo where 'she' is in first place with the women in second and third places standing beside her - i'm shocked RM posted that as it really brings home how unfair it is.

I suspect the fact that they aren't being lauded as a stunning and brave trans hero will send this person into a rage. Look how they were desperately tweeting every media outlet they could think of. No one will touch it because it's clearly wrong.

Here's a woman who took a world record (12 hour time trial) from men.

By the way i think testosterone is a massive red herring - i think it does help you in recovery for endurance events - but I think lung capacity, heart size, VO2 max, overall frame size and musculature of having been an adult male have a greater unfair impact (that doesn't go away just because you lowered your testosterone)

Agreed. It means that anyone looking at the pics and thinking "bloke" is a bigot because its all about hormones. And keeps us from a discussing how trans women are different physically from women-women because they're male.

I've cycled in mixed and single sex cycling groups. Men are faster, period. Mediocre men are often on a par with the fastest women. The official times for this event bear this out.

I'm glad the third (really, second fastest female) placed contestant is speaking out. In case she's reading,
I can imagine how hard she's had to train to get to this stage in her career then this happens. Not just the title but also the prize money!

testosterone is a massive red herring - i think it does help you in recovery for endurance events

No - testosterone is an anabolic steroid, and builds muscle bulk. Its advantage primarily shows itself in the power events like sprinting and weightlifting (and in this instance, sprint cycling). But yes, VOMax is equally if not more important in cycling. Endurance events - the doping of choice tends to be things like cocaine (back in the 1930s), amphetamines, caffeine, ephidrene, etc.

Reported in The Sun

www.thesun.co.uk/sport/7508830/transgender-cycling-champ-ricky-gervais/

oh, mustn't forget this twitter.com/SamBarber1910/status/1038414373977550848 as well.

I can't think about this too much, or I become enraged, and it isn't useful.

Mackinnon's arguments are ludicrous - but a massive number of people are believing this crock of shite.

I’m just puzzled as to why if a man wants to be a woman, why they want to keep a penis? Can’t get much more male than that!

Also, for anyone who doubts McKinnon's physical attributes: you can see in the photograph in the original post that McKinnon is slouching to minimise their height and bulk while the two women are standing up straight.

Massive backpedaling from the third place cycling. First post in the tweet thread:

After having some time to reflect, I realize my twitter comments earlier this week unintentionally fanned the flames on a controversial situation, and that I regret. I made the comments out of a feeling of frustration, but they weren't productive or positive.

twitter.com/jkwagnermd/status/1052926551279456257?s=19

I suspect "time to reflect" = threatened

Interesting that Jennifer says she did not congratulate Rachel on the win. That must have made it obvious to Rachel what Jennifer’s feelings were at the time.

Yet Rachel still put their arm round Jennifer on the podium.

I suspect "time to reflect" = threatened

That or someone has kicked up a stink with her sponsor and her sponsor has told her what to say. Breach of contract and pulling of funds etc

The twitter threads are fascinating - and almost universally identify the silencing and bullying that made her recant in a very supportive way.

Yes I just saw this. Thought it was horrible at first, but she did fight back a little. For those of you who think I have "folded" I have not. There's a group of us working on getting the rules changed but we are going to fight it offline, not in the name-calling angry world of social media. I'm choosing to move on in a positive way.

Those with generic email replies, have you emailed back and pointed out what they've accidently publicly backed?

Rachel is on radio 4 now.

Interviewer was critical/ skeptical. No-one else interviewed. They will be returning to the GRA consultation later in the programme though.

Interviewer was obviously thinking what on earth are you talking about, she couldn't hide it.