Is trans sport a thing?

Did you know that there was a transgender athlete who tried out for the 2012 US Olympic team. How cool is that?

He used to be a she, and his sport is hammer throw. That's the one where you spin around holding onto a rope that has a big cannonball on the other end. The goal is to see how far it can be thrown. He was competing in the male division, now that he is a man.

Do you think he qualified? What factored into your assessment?

He did not make the team, as he was beaten by too many male-born competitors. Why?

My own guess would be that he was facing some form of skeletal/musculature disadvantage. Either that, or they had better form, but I'm going with the structure angle.

Did this put him at an unfair disadvantage? Should he have been permitted to compete instead in the female division? I don't think so. His current body is a product not just of intensive training, but also a cornucopia of pharmaceuticals and hormones. If a woman tried to compete in the same condition she would have been banned-for-life after failing the drug test. Therefore, to be fair, he certainly should not be competing in the female division. Do you agree?

Is it unfair that he have to compete as a man? Don't think so.

Unfortunately, I've twisted the story to prove a point. It's all true, except the female-to-male transgender athlete involved did not compete in the male division, he competed as a female.

Now what do you think? Should he have been allowed to compete against women with his chemically modified body? He did and, thank goodness, still didn't make the Olympic team.

I don't know of any other transgender people who have tried to compete in the Olympics, and Dr de Mars says it's the only example she's found, and she's a university professor.

There is, however, a transgender athlete fighting in mixed martial arts. This person was born male, and is now female. She fights in the women's 145 pound division.

Do you think this is right?

In the Olympic example of a transgender woman-to-man athlete competing in the female hammer throw division, there is no evidence that anybody was put in danger due to his participation.

If a transgender male-to-female athlete wants to take advantage of perhaps being allowed into a female division of a weight-lifting competition, there is still nobody put in harm's way.

A male-to-female fighter being permitted into female divisions of fighting sports is not so harmless. The transgender fighter mentioned earlier in this article has had 5 victories, none of which were by decision.

I have watched some of her fights. Her technique is nothing special, and she often powers her moves through. She fights the women she faces much as an abusive male would.

I have a solution. Until there are enough transgender athletes to warrant separate divisions for male-to-female and female-to-make competitors, all transgender athletes should only ever compete in male divisions.

The only exception should be transgender female-to-male individuals who have not undergone male hormone reassignment therapy being allowed to continue within female divisions.

People shouldn't be put at risk