Trans athlete Cece Telfer competing in a women’s event is “simply cheating” former Great Britain Olympic medal winner Sharron Davies declared Monday.
Her comment came after Telfer became the first openly transgender athlete to win an NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) title back in 2019 and was running in the Women’s Invitational 60m hurdles in Boston in February.
The Daily Mail reports he had qualified for the final of the event, finishing fifth in the preliminary races, but would reportedly go on to disqualify himself during the deciding race.
A picture posted on social media of Telfer sparked the response from Davies.
A video was also posted of Telfer preparing for the race, with the sprinter seen jumping up and down and loosening joints while stood at the starting blocks.
👟Male runner, Cece Telfer, displaced collegiate women in the finals of a women's invitational meet in Boston last month.
— ICONS (@icons_women) March 30, 2024
Telfer, the first openly trans-identifying male to win a women's NCAA national title in the 400m hurdles (2019), ran unattached. After bumping a female… pic.twitter.com/LwEC3zqsJT
Davies wrote on X (formerly Twitter): “Spot the male athlete in the women’s race! It’s simply cheating.”
Spot the male athlete in the women’s race! It’s simply Cheating https://t.co/e5AhnCuRCF
— Sharron Davies MBE (@sharrond62) March 31, 2024
Swimmer Davies won silver in the 1980 400m medley at the Moscow Olympics and is among other former athletes challenging trans athletes participating in women’s sports.
For her efforts the 61-year-old has faced a backlash from transgender activists who have reportedly targeted her children’s school in response.
As Breitbart News reported, Davies previously dismissed NIKE’s decision to partner with trans activist Dylan Mulvaney to model women’s sports bras and leggings, calling it “a kick in the teeth to women.”
Davies said Mulvaney’s portrayal of women in the ad seemed like a “parody.”
File/Sharron Davies poolside in her competition days (Ross Kinnaird/EMPICS via Getty Images)
“In the past, it was always seen as an insult to say, ‘run like a girl’ — and here we’ve got someone behaving in a way that’s very un-sportslike, that’s very unathletic.
“And it’s so frustrating when only 1% of USA sponsorship dollars go to actual females in sport that they would do this.”