US transgender athlete ruled ineligible for Olympic trials

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A transgender runner was barred from participating in U. S. Olympic trials because the athlete did not meet the World Athletics requirements.

CeCe Telfer was supposed to run in this week’s 400-meter hurdles at the U. S. Olympic trials but was not allowed to compete as the 2019 World Athletics guidelines require participants’ testosterone levels to be below a certain point for a span of 12 months, according to the Associated Press.

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David McFarland, Telfer's manager, said the athlete would respect the ruling and keep preparing for the future.

“CeCe has turned her focus towards the future and is continuing to train. She will compete on the national, and world, stage again soon,” McFarland said.

Telfer ran track for the men’s team at Division II Franklin Pierce University, took time off, and then joined the women’s team. Telfer won the women’s NCAA title in 2019.

USA Track & Field explained that World Athletics governs the eligibility requirements for the Olympics in a statement to the Washington Examiner.

“Following notification from World Athletics on June 17 that the conditions had not yet been met, USATF provided CeCe with the eligibility requirements and, along with World Athletics, the opportunity to demonstrate her eligibility so that she could compete at the U. S. Olympic Team Trials,” the statement read. “According to subsequent notification to CeCe from World Athletics on June 22, she has not been able to demonstrate her eligibility.”

In a piece for Women’s Health published June 17, Telfer wrote about not identifying "as a male athlete” — rather, during meets, the runner would “say to myself that I’m a female athlete competing in a sport t... (Read more)

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