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Transgender athletes in sport with Olympian Sharron Davies & racing driver & trans activist Charlie Martin

Anne McElvoy and a conflict resolution expert explore the issues around trans athletes in sport with swimmer Sharron Davies and motorsport racer and trans activist Charlie Martin.

Would having "open categories" make sport more welcome and fair for all competitors? Anne McElvoy and conflict resolution expert Louisa Weinstein talk to Sharron Davies & Charlie Martin about their "red lines" on the issue of trans athletes in sport.

Arguments about gender identity - and which rights and restrictions should flow from that - garner strong reaction in public debate. One area which has been particularly contentious is in sport – how to ensure fairness and also allow clear criteria for competition?

World Athletics and British Cycling joined the sporting bodies for swimming, triathlon and rugby in banning transgender athletes from competing in elite women's sport and the Swimming body - World Aquatics - established an 'open' category at competitions, for swimmers whose gender identity is different than their sex observed at birth but some critics say such a category is itself discriminatory.

Sharron Davies, the former competitive swimmer who represented Great Britain in the European, Commonwealth and Olympic Games, winning a silver at the Moscow Games in 1980 and she recently published her book "Unfair Play: The Battle For Women's Sport" .

Charlie Martin is a British racing car driver and transgender rights activist, who competes in the male dominated field of motorsport and endurance racing. She started her career as a male competitor and transitioned in 2012 at the age of 30. She competed in the Michelin Le Mans Cup in 2019, was the first out trans person to race in the 24 Hours of Nürburgring event in 2020 and has her sights on competing at 24 hours of Le Mans in the future.

Presenter: Anne McElvoy
Producer: Lisa Jenkinson

Available now

28 minutes

Broadcasts

  • Thu 15 Aug 2024 16:00
  • Thu 5 Sep 2024 09:00