A female-identifying transgender NCAA champion was ruled ineligible to compete in the U.S. Olympic trials.
Last week, USA Track and Field (USATF) said in a statement that CeCe Telfer, who won the NCAA Division II championship in 2019, failed to meet the World Athletic requirements to be eligible for trials.
Telfer had initially been on the list for Friday’s opening heats but was left off of Wednesday’s updated list. Telfer was preparing to compete in the women’s 400-meter hurdles at Olympic trials.
World Athletics’ guidelines, released in 2019, stated that athletes’ may not compete in female divisions if their testosterone levels are at 5 nanomoles per liter or more for 12 consecutive months. The organization suggested that transgender athletes can lower their testosterone levels using hormonal birth control, hormone therapy pills, or surgery to remove their testicles.
According to Fox News, USATF urged that it “strongly supports inclusivity and providing a clear path to participation in the sport for all, while also maintaining competitive fairness.”
“If CeCe meets the conditions for transgender athlete participation in the future,” the organization noted, “we wholeheartedly back her participation in international events as a member of Team USATF.”
Telfer’s manager, David McFarland, stated that his client would respect the decision of the USATF and World Athletics.
“CeCe has turned her focus towards the future and is continuing to train,” McFarland said. “She will compete on the national — and world — stage again soon.”
“I love what I’m doing and I’m getting to live my truth and live my authentic life. I believe that this is my way of being the change that I want to see in the world. And I live by that every single day,” Telfer said last week.
Back in 2019, Telfer claimed that being transgender and born male was actually a disadvantage, in spite of beating several top biological female NCAA runners.
“My body is going through so many medical implications,” Telfer said at the time. “It’s going through biochemistry changes. So, being on hormone replacement therapy [results in] muscle depletion … your muscles are deteriorating. You lose a lot of strength because testosterone is where you get your strength, your agility. So I have to work twice as hard to keep that strength, and if I slack a day, that’s like three days set behind. So … I have to keep up all my workouts … I can’t drink … I can’t eat unhealthy, or else it’s gonna impact me harder.”
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