A Korean transgender cyclist says he intentionally won a competition in the female category in order to raise awareness about male competitive advantage, The Korea Times reported.
Na Hwa-rin said he had been preparing for “transphobic remarks” when he won a provincial competition in the country, according to an interview with The Korea Times. In fact, the 37-year-old cyclist welcomed them as an opportunity to highlight the biological advantage he held over women.
“I have no unresolved feelings over winning because that’s no longer what I want. My goal was to stir controversy and get my story heard by competing,” Na said. (RELATED: Montana Faces Lawsuit From Trans Activists After Banning Explicit Drag Events For Kids)
Na said he felt sorry for female cyclists who lost to him, and offered them energy drinks as an apology. When he crossed the finish line, he felt “more relieved than triumphant.”
Transgender cyclist uses her name to make sports more gender inclusive, fairerhttps://t.co/Z9DxeTaEj0 pic.twitter.com/bJetSCweR2
— The Korea Times (@koreatimescokr) July 7, 2023
“I am not honored. I am not proud of myself at all. I believe other transgender athletes would feel the same way. They may not want to admit it, but they’re being selfish. There is no honor as an athlete in that.”
“I don’t want to make an issue to the point where I harm other people,” Na explained.
Na said transgender athletes should compete in a “third gender” category.
“Under the current binary system, women athletes will be discouraged and their hard work might not be recognized due to the participation of transgender athletes. At the same time, male-to-female transgender athletes, no matter how hard they worked, will never be truly honored for their wins. Honor is the goal that all athletes aspire to attain, but this is a situation where nobody will be honored. I think that shouldn’t happen.”
In April, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a ban on men participating in women’s and girl’s sports competitions, citing an unfair advantage which biological men hold over females.
“I don’t care how many surgeries you have, how many chemicals you put in your body, that does not make you a biological woman,” Texas Rep. Beth Van Duyne said.
Lia Thomas is one of the most famous examples of a biological man scoring huge wins after switching to female athletic categories. Thomas beat out his female competitors by 1.75 seconds during the NCAA championships in March 2022. Thomas was ranked #462 when he competed on the male team, and quickly ranked #1 in the women’s.