A transgender athlete who competed as a man before winning the NCAA women’s national championship vows to return to indoor track competition and “break all records.”
CeCe Telfer became the first openly trans woman to win an NCAA title when she placed first in the 400m hurdles at the 2019 Division II national championships.
But Telfer suggests she is now planning an imminent return to competition in which she plans to eliminate her fellow sprinters.
“I’m looking forward to indoor track, because 2024 indoor is going to be epic,” Telfer said in an interview with Them.
“My dreams have been taken away from me once again. So I plan to go back to New England and do all the indoor meets and take all the names and all the records and everything.
A transgender runner who competed as a man before winning the NCAA women’s national championship vows to return to indoor track competition and “break all records.”
Cece Telfer became the first openly trans woman to win an NCAA title when she placed first in the 400m hurdles at the Division II national championships in 2019 (photo)
The dream Telfer spoke of was to compete on the international stage.
In 2021, USA Track and Field blocked Telfer from participating in the Olympic trials, arguing that she did not meet the eligibility criteria hormonally.
Two years later, in March 2023, World Athletics, the international governing body for athletics, banned all trans women from running.
This ended any hopes Telfer may have had of competing in this summer’s Olympics in Paris.
In the years since her 2019 victory, Telfer says she has been homeless and no longer speaks to her biological family.
She has also been open about the abuse and harassment she has experienced, both publicly and privately, due to her participation in women’s sports.
But Telfer, who set records while competing for Franklin Pierce University, appears to have a burning desire to return to the running track and is seriously considering setting new records in the process.
“It doesn’t always feel like a first place, it doesn’t always feel like a second place, it doesn’t always feel like a podium, but the track events that matter will matter.” This is what burns this fire in my heart and in my body. So it lets me know that I can compete indoors and still be the girl they’re talking about, period.
The National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) has not yet issued specific rules regarding transgender athletes’ participation in sports.
Previously, the body said it would mirror rules proposed by the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee, while each individual sport would follow each sport’s national governing body.
If there is no national governing body, then each sport would follow current international policy.
Telfer promises to return to the track to break “all records”. She is photographed last weekend
Telfer (right) pictured after winning a Division II national title in the 400-meter hurdles as a senior at Franklin Pierce University in 2019
Originally from Jamaica, Telfer moved to Canada at age 12 before moving to New Hampshire as a high school student. This is where Telfer began practicing athletics
Telfer, who was born and raised under the name Craig, competed in the men’s division in January 2018 before undergoing gender reassignment surgery ahead of the 2019 season.
Telfer competed on the men’s team at Franklin Pierce University in New Hampshire from 2016 to 2018, although she identified as a woman.
The NCAA’s transgender policy was updated in January 2022, while the decision is enforced from August 1.
In comparison, earlier this year the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), a smaller organization than the NCAA, banned transgender athletes in women’s sports.
The NAIA justified its decision by saying it was rooted in “fair and safe competition for all student-athletes” and that “Title IX guarantees separate and equal opportunities for female athletes.”
The organization stated that only athletes whose biological sex is female can participate in “NAIA-sponsored women’s sports.”
Telfer said she was “heartbroken” and “distraught” by these rules.
Telfer has hinted that she is planning an imminent return to competition in which she plans to eliminate her fellow sprinters.
Telfer, who competed for Franklin Pierce University, appears to have a burning desire to return to the race track and is serious about setting new records in the process.
Telfer released his memoir this month
‘Why are we coming back? Why are we coming back? We’re literally going back into history,” Telfer said.
“It’s not real life, because we were moving forward and now we’re going backwards. It’s scary. The fact that people are powerful enough to move backwards is scary, not only for transgender women, but it should be scary for society as a whole… They’ve always policed women’s bodies. It’s about cis women and what’s going on in their lives and in their bodies.
“It breaks my heart because I had an opportunity. The NCAA saw me. They gave me a chance to be that voice and to be that physical change, and they were taking a step in the right direction and obviously creating a story, hoping that other organizations would follow.
The issue took center stage in 2022 with UPenn swimmer Lia Thomas, pictured, who began competing in women’s collegiate swimming 18 months after setting records.
Although professional bodies have established their own rules and regulations, debates have arisen across the country about athletes competing in high school and college.
The issue took center stage in 2022 with UPenn swimmer Lia Thomas, who began competing in women’s collegiate swimming a year and a half after her transition.
Thomas went on to break several women’s records, much to the dismay of many of her teammates, and the NCAA and United States swimming bodies were criticized for allowing Thomas to compete.
Professional competitive swimming association FINA has since banned trans women from competing in the sport, saying they must have begun their transition before the onset of puberty, which is illegal or nearly impossible to do. in most of the United States.
24 states have now banned transgender students from participating in women’s sports.
A notable example is Ohio, which passed a bill requiring students accused of being transgender to provide a medical certificate detailing their sexual anatomy, testosterone levels and genetic makeup.
In New Jersey, Republican lawmakers have proposed the Women’s Sports Fairness Act, which would require student-athletes to verify the nature of their genitals to compete.
Bill sponsor Sen. Michael Testa compared genital checks to the random drug tests that college athletes are subjected to, and said he foresees no problem with angry parents accusing girls of being transgender .
dailymail us
