Olympic sprinter expertly shut down after saying he wants to identify as a woman to ‘break records’
James Ellington at the London Stadium on July 20, 2019 in London, England. (Action Foto Sport/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
British Olympic sprinter James Ellington has come under fire for comments he made about identifying as a woman to break sprint records.
On October 21 – apparently in reaction to the news that trans cyclist Rachel McKinnon defended her sprint title at the track cycling world championships – Ellington tweeted that these are “ridiculous times”.
“If I decide from now on I want to be recognised as a woman and break all the WOMENS british sprint records, is that fair,” Ellington said, adding, “Living in ridiculous times.”
Lynne Featherstone, the former Lib Dem MP who was a key orchestrator of legalising equal marriage in the UK, replied to Ellington by simply saying: “That’s a ridiculous statement.”
And Amanda Jette Knox, a gay mother of four, said, “Yes! Go for it. You can deal with the massive changes to your body (once you can get access to medical care, which can take a long while), the discrimination, mockery, media attacks, loss of relationships, and if you’re lucky, some wins on the track. Report back ok? Good luck!
Can you give an actual example of where a man, never mind a world class athlete, has done what James has suggested? You say it is “going on these days and ruining women’s sport” but I seem to have missed it.
— Twm Owen (@NewsatTwm) October 21, 2019
The 34-year-old Olympic sprinter later doubled down on his comments, saying, “So far I’m a bigot, transphobic, disgusting, uneducated and ohh racist amongst few other things. That’s what you get for speaking up for women in sport.”
2019 year of the egg shells
— James Ellington (@Jellington100m) October 22, 2019
Under current International Olympic Committee guidelines, trans women must keep their testosterone levels below a certain amount to be eligible to compete in women’s categories. There are not similar restrictions for trans men competing in male competitions.
As many people pointed out to Ellington, trans athletes have been competing in sport for many years and there are yet to be any trans Olympians.
I believe it requires one year on HRT with you testosterone below a set level.
In that time you will lose muscle mass, grow breasts, have skin and body hair changes, fat redistribution, and mood changes.
— Brenda Demi-Girl ?️? (@makewoman1) October 23, 2019
But you are not going to do that and no one does
— PJ Vazel (@pjvazel) October 22, 2019
