Jillian Bearden, a transgender cyclist who came out in the last year, has been maligned by some social conservatives over the last week for “unfair advantages” she had because she was born in a male body and had previously competed as a cyclist as a man.
Yet all the fear-mongering from people like Laura Ingraham proved totally misplaced and unfounded, as it was a cisgender cyclist, Sara Poidevin of Canada, who raced away with the title. Bearden didn’t crack the top 30 and finished 11 minutes and 16 seconds behind Poidevin.
While people like Ingraham continue to attempt to drive wedges between the trans-athlete community and the rest of the sports world, they cannot point to a single transgender athlete who has ever dominated women’s sports.
We are proud of Bearden for being her true self and living her life openly. We hope she inspires other trans people in sports to do the same.
