This week, Lia Thomas became the first transgender athlete to be crowned National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) champion, winning the 500-yard freestyle in Georgia, US. The crowd was muted, and no wonder. Thomas spent around 20 years as a man and started competing against women in swimming only last year before becoming a national champion.
Feminism is about ending the oppression of women (by men) and not about claiming there are no differences between the sexes. One thing is clear: there are some things that we cannot compete with men in and one of those competitive sports.
Scientific papers have clearly shown that that those who have undergone male puberty retain significant advantages in power and strength, even after taking medication to suppress their testosterone levels.
Why will girls bother to reach the peak of their game if some bloke can come along and take it from them?
As the sports scientist professor Ross
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