Athletes And Transition

[Guest AndreaSC]

Are there any competitive athletes out there who continued to compete after transition?

[Guest Emily1]

Yes, i know of one particular case that caused some debate:

There was a man who was relatively low in rank in tennis (not even top 100), but when he transitioned, there was a big argument about whether she should be able to continue to play professionally, considering she would probably place very high (top 5 or something).

[Sally]

I don't remember the names, but there have been TV specials about the current (depending on how old the special was) Mountain Bike Downhill champion (MTF) and a lady from Australia playing on the European Golf Tour (MTF). Those are the only two that I know of currently. The thought that a Transsexual Woman would automatically be a superior athlete is ignoring the years of hormone therapy - with the reduction or elimination of testosterone and the introduction of Estrogene - muscle mass is greatly diminished, so to assume that the male tennis player would jump from 100+ to 5 might be true if all he did was put on a dress and go on the women's tour, but after three years or more of HRT I would think more in the 30s.

Just my thoughts and Dr. Renee Richards transitioned back in the 70s (I think) and was allowed to play on the women's tour and her rankings barely changed at all.

love ya,

Sally

[Guest silverpetals]

there have been many sportswomen who have continued to pursue their sport during and after transition, most of whom have endured fierce opposition against their right to compete in the women's categories - partly due to lack of knowledge of the effects of long-term hrt, partly due to professional rivalries, and partly due to good ol' bigotry.

if you're looking for information, these three women may be a good start...

michelle dumaresq ~ she's the downhill mountain bike champion.

mianne bagger ~ the danish golfer who made it to the european golf tour. whatever that is.

kristen worley ~ i'm not entirely sure whether she competed in the olympics in the end, but she was aiming for it.

it's possible.

[Guest Amanda_Henderson]

I thought that it has been ruled that as long as a trans man or woman has completed the required fields of med + SRS, that they are alowed to compete in the Olimpics?

Or did I mis read some info a couple of years ago.

[Guest AndreaSC]

My bad. I already know about all the women who have been mentioned. What I should have said, are there any competitive athletes _reading_this_ who have transitioned?

[Guest Drew]

i don't know how competitive you mean, but i did competitive high school sports and club sports throughout high school including some extremely competeitive and sometimes violent contact sports. they were pretty competitive leagues but it wasn't at an olympic level. not sure if that counts...