Olympian Inga Thompson Dismissed by Team for Advocating Against Trans Athlete Policy and Being Shamed for Speaking Up

Introduction

Inga Thompson, a former Olympic cyclist, has been dumped by her team after she called for a protest against the policy of allowing transgender athletes to compete in women’s sports. Thompson, who won a silver medal in the 1984 Olympics, said she was shamed for speaking out and that her team had abandoned her.

Thompson’s comments come amid a growing debate over the participation of transgender athletes in women’s sports. Some argue that allowing transgender women to compete in women’s sports is unfair to cisgender women, as transgender women may have physical advantages due to their biological male characteristics.

Thompson’s Experience

Thompson said she was inspired to speak out after learning about the case of CeCe Telfer, a transgender woman who won the NCAA Division II women’s 400-meter hurdles in 2019. Thompson said she was shocked that Telfer was allowed to compete against women, despite having previously competed on a men’s team.

Thompson said she reached out to her cycling team, the Panaracer/Factor p/b Bicycle X-Change, to ask if they would support a protest against the policy of allowing transgender athletes to compete in women’s sports. However, she said the team’s response was disappointing.

„They said they didn’t want to get involved in politics and that they didn’t want to offend anyone,“ Thompson said. „I was shamed for speaking out and told that I was being divisive.“

Thompson said she was eventually dropped from the team, despite having been a member for several years. She said she felt betrayed by her former teammates and that she had been ostracized for speaking out.

The Debate Over Transgender Athletes

The debate over transgender athletes in women’s sports has been ongoing for several years. Some argue that allowing transgender women to compete in women’s sports is unfair to cisgender women, as transgender women may have physical advantages due to their biological male characteristics.

However, others argue that transgender women should be allowed to compete in women’s sports, as they identify as women and should be treated as such. They also argue that the physical advantages of transgender women are often overstated and that there is no evidence to suggest that they have an unfair advantage over cisgender women.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has guidelines in place for transgender athletes who wish to compete in the Olympics. The guidelines state that transgender women must have testosterone levels below a certain threshold for at least 12 months prior to competing. However, some argue that these guidelines are not sufficient and that more needs to be done to ensure a level playing field for all athletes

Original article Teaser

‘I Was Shamed for Speaking Out’: Olympian Inga Thompson Dumped by Team After Call to Protest Trans Athlete Policy

Cynisca Cycling has kicked three-time cycling Olympian Inga Thompson from its board after the cyclist spoke up against allowing men claiming to be transgender “women” to compete in the women’s category. Most recently, Thompson has called for female athletes to “take a knee” and protest against the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI)’s transgender athlete policies that allowed transgender cyclist Austin Killips to be declared the winner of last month’s Tour of the Gila race. Thompson’s complaints about Killips were apparently Cynisca Cycling’s final straw. “Inga Thompson is no longer a member of the Cynisca board of directors and will have no consulting or any other role with Cynisca,” the group said, according to Cycling Weekly. “The association with Ms. Thompson has affected Cynisca’s brand and

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