A 29-year-old trans woman beat a 13-year-old girl to win first place in a women’s skateboarding competition in New York.
Ricci Tres, who was born male but who now identifies as a woman, won the Boardr Open, a street skateboarding contest that is open to all participants at all skill levels but which is split into male and female contests.
Tres, who hails from Los Angeles, won the women’s title and a prize of $500 while 13-year-old Shiloh Catori of Tampa, Florida came in second taking home $250.
Out of the six competitors, four were under the age of 17, including a 10-year-old girl, Juri Iikura, who came fifth.
The news appeared to irk fellow skateboarder Taylor Silverman who as a woman revealed how she has come in second place several times in recent competitions having been beaten by trans women.
‘I have been in three different contests with trans women, two of which I placed second,’ Silverman wrote in an Instagram post.
She told how in one competition organized by Red Bull the transgender winner won thousands of dollars.
‘This totaled $5,000 of the prize money meant for female athletes,’ Silverman noted.
Silverman lost to trans skater Lilian Gallagher during the competition held in May.
Since that time she has used her social media presence to campaign for the preservation of women’s athletics by calling for competitions to revert to women competing against other biological women and men competing against biological men.
‘I reached out to Redbull and was ignored,’ Silverman wrote on Instagram. ‘I am sick of being bullied into silence.
‘What happened was unfair and at the time I was too uncomfortable to speak up. I understand that in today’s society even some women think this is acceptable, but I believe in doing the right thing even if it’s not the popular thing. I now realize it’s really important for me to speak up and I’d like to schedule a time to talk.’
Silverman’s comments come as the issue of whether trans women have a competitive advantage over biological women has been hotly debated.
Last December, the issue was thrust into the spotlight as University of Pennsylvania trans swimmer Lia Thomas blew past other women competing at the University of Akron’s Zippy Invitational, winning the 1650 freestyle by 38 seconds, the 500 freestyle by 12 seconds and the 200 by 7 seconds. Thomas set new Penn, pool and meet records.
Thomas had swam competitively for the men’s team for three years before switching to the women’s team.
A recent Gallup poll suggested 62% of Americans believe athletes should only be able to take part in sporting teams that correspond with their born sex rather than their gender identity.
Reporting from The Daily Mail.
