sport news Aussie trans athlete Ricki Coughlan slams World Athletics for bowing to the ... trends now
Transgender athletes have condemned World Athletics' exclusion of transgender women from elite female competitions, while the decision was welcomed by some sportswomen as a win for fairness.
Athletics' global governing body on Thursday voted to ban transgender women who have gone through male puberty from competing in women's events, citing a 'need to protect the female category'.
Ricki Coughlan, one of Australia's first transgender athletes in professional running, said WA's ruling would embolden the 'forces of hate' against transgender people.
'There's no nice way of putting this,' she told Reuters.
'The forces of hate that are out there that don't want transgender people to exist in our society ... will take this as a win and will then say "okay, let's move onto the next thing".'
Professional runner Ricki Coughlan was one of the first transgender women in the history of Australian sport
She believes the decision handed down by World Athletics will enable people who 'don't want transgender people in our society'
Coughlan made headlines in the early 1990s when she became one of the country's first out transgender women in Australian sport.
She transitioned in her early 20s and competed at state level in 800 and 1500 metres races.
WA also tightened eligibility requirements for athletes with Differences in Sex Development in women's events, halving the upper threshold of testosterone levels.
DSD athletes have male testes but do not produce enough of the hormone Dihydrotestosterone (DHT) that is necessary for the formation of male external genitalia.
'For women with intersex traits, they will continue to be subjected to horrific sex testing practices and medically unnecessary surgery, gender-based violence and
