Transgender cyclist Rachel McKinnon says it would be ‘unfair’ to exclude her from female competition

Canadian to compete at World Masters Track Cycling Championship on Saturday

Transgender cyclist Rachel McKinnon has said it would be “unfair” to exclude her from female competition.

In 2018, the Canadian became the first trans athlete to win a track world title at the women's World Masters Track Cycling Championship in California.

As she prepares to defend her title at this year’s event in Manchester, McKinnon has said it is her "human right" to compete in women's sport.

“All my medical records say female,” she told Sky News.

“My doctor treats me as a female person, my racing licence says female, but people who oppose my existence still want to think of me as male.

"There's a stereotype that men are always stronger than women, so people think there is an unfair advantage. By preventing trans women from competing or requiring them to take medication, you're denying their human rights."

Despite defending her right to partake in competitive sport, McKinnon did acknowledge that, as a transgender women, it is possible that she could have a physical edge over her fellow athletes.

“Is it possible? Yes it is possible. But there are elite track cyclists who are bigger than me,” McKinnon said.

“There is a range of body sizes and strength, you can be successful with massively different body shapes. To take a British example, look at Victoria Pendleton, an Olympic champion with teeny tiny legs.

"In many Olympic disciplines the gap in performance is bigger between first and eighth in a single sex event than it is between the first man and the first woman."

The decision to let McKinnon race alongside cis female (people whose gender identity matches their biological sex) competitors has been criticised by some track rivals, including Victoria Hood who previously stated: "The science is there and it says that it is unfair."

Jen Wagner-Assali, who finished third behind McKinnon at the World Championships in 2018, agreed, also calling her gold medal triumph "unfair".

However, McKinnon believes the opposite, adding that “trans inclusion is fairness”.

"This is much bigger than sport, it's a proxy for all of trans inclusion in society," she said.

Earlier this year, former Olympian Sharron Davies MBE and long-distance runner Paula Radcliffe weighed in on the debate.

Speaking to The Telegraph, Davies argued that transgender athletes had a physical advantage over cisgendered women.

“Michael Phelps has size 15 feet; your average female swimmer has size six,” she said.

“If someone is a good swimmer and they decide they want to transition to being a female, none of our girls would stand a chance.”

Similarly, Radcliffe told BBC Radio 4 that she believes athletes who were born male have “certain advantages that women will not ever get”, in terms of physical traits such as their height and strength.

"First of all you have to explain that it’s part of a much bigger issue, and there are more elements around that, so there is a difference between transgender and DSD," the athlete said.

"There is also the different levels of transgender, so whether they’re fully transitioned, or whether they are taking hormone suppressants or not."