Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Liam Prenderville

British Rowing chair calls for “open” category for transgender athletes

The chair of British Rowing has led calls to follow the lead of other sports and create an 'open' category for transgender athletes.

FINA, swimming's world governing body, have introduced an open category for those whose gender identity is different than their birth sex. Triathlon became the first British sport to follow suit earlier this year. by banning transgender women from female events before rugby codes did the same.

British owing chief Mark Davies has admitted the organisation would consider a similar switch, with current policies matching that of World Rowing.

The current structure allows an athlete who was male at birth to compete in female competitions, providing their testosterone is below a certain level, the same as many sport federations.

But research has shown transgender women can still have significant performance advantages over female athletes.

"World Rowing is less protective of women's sport than some other international federations such as Fina, which has adopted a policy of having open and women's categories," Davies said.

"Open is for anyone who went through male puberty - recognising that limiting testosterone levels fails to counteract the lasting impact of that."

The introduction of open categories has come under scrutiny for being discriminatory, with Olympic champion Tom Daley among the critics.

"Anyone that's told that they can't compete or can't do something they love just because of who they are, it's not on," the diver said. "It's something I feel really strongly about. Giving trans people the chance to share their side."

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.