Tennis legend Martina Navratilova and former British Olympic distance runner Mara Yamauchi were among those who criticized Austin Killips after the transgender cyclist finished first at the Belgian Waffle Ride in North Carolina.
Killips finished ahead of Paige Onweller and Flavia Oliveira and spoke about the win after the race. Killips won in 8 hours, 28 minutes and 7 seconds, beating Onweller by about four minutes and Oliveira by seven minutes.
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Austin Killips on the podium after the elite women’s «Kasteelcross» race in January 2023. (David Pintens/Belgian Mag/AFP via Getty Images)
«It was a grueling effort. I’m very proud to put it out there and get the result,» Killips said after the race. «After BC, I understand how things work now. You really want to be out front in those technical one-track sections and I asserted myself there and was able to get a gap early.»
“Then, I had a flat tire, and then we were riding together for quite a while. I have a cross background and I thought I was going to attack these single track sections as hard as I can and try to establish a gap again and I did that in… Gosh, I don’t even know what mile, but on one of the mid-race single track sections I just hammered away and was able to stay away and join it.»
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Austin Killips and Martina Navratilova (fake images)
But Navratilova and others were not happy.
«What a joke,» the former tennis star tweeted.
Killips gained the national spotlight last month after becoming the first transgender woman to win a UCI event.
Two-time Olympian Mara Yamauchi speaks at an event on October 28, 2017 in Germany. (Ulrich Roth/Getty Images)
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Since then, the uproar has caused USA Cycling to question its members about transgender participation in the sport. It also caused a stir.