Katie calling for clarity in trans debate

HAVING made a gold-laden career out of successfully navigating the vertiginous banks of the velodrome, Katie Archibald is now trying to nimbly traverse even more challenging terrain.

The two-time Olympic cycling champion has proved herself to be an engaging, erudite and occasionally quirky character throughout a decade-long spell at the frontline of her sport, always willing to articulate her thoughts on the topics of the day and rarely ducking an issue.

It is no surprise, then, that she has shown a readiness to again wade into a subject fast becoming the most contentious in all of sport: transgender athletes competing in female events.

Archibald’s voice is a rare one among current competing athletes, many of whom have chosen not to present their views in public for fear of being labelled transphobic or worse. In the modern social media world of instant reaction, the backlash can often be both caustic and deeply personal.

The 28-year-old Scot has tried to tread the middle ground with her nuanced reasoning. Sympathetic to the personal plight of those trans individuals who have become the public face of a war of uncertainty and suspicion, she also feels an obligation to continue the crusade for ‘competitive fair sport’ on behalf of athletes like herself.

There is also a feeling that those caught up on both sides of the debate have not been helped by opaque or even contradictory statements from various sporting governing bodies — including the International Olympic Committee (IOC) — that have darkened already muddy waters.

Archibald was critical of an IOC ruling late last year that there should no longer be an assumption that a transgender athlete would automatically hold an unfair advantage while competing in female events.

Her own sport has flip-flopped on the issue, British Cycling initially adopting a policy that would have allowed Emily Bridges, a 21-year-old trans athlete, to compete in a female competition until the world governing body, the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), overruled them.

British Cycling then announced they would be suspending their policy of allowing trans athletes to gain eligibility to race domestically pending a full review. Despite that, trans cyclists are continuing to compete in women’s events.

Earlier this month, Maxine Yates, a transgender downhill mountain bike racer, won an event in Fort William, which led to the runner-up, Jane Page, complaining to British Cycling.

It is an unholy mess and the confusion and acrimony will only continue to mount until clear and consistent guidelines are drawn up and then applied across the sporting spectrum.

Archibald has little faith in the governing bodies coming up with the requisite solution but hopes a science-led approach will provide an answer.

‘The reason that people are nervous to talk about all this is because there are human beings on the other side getting tangled up in it,’ she said yesterday inside the Sir Chris Hoy velodrome in Glasgow after being named in the Scotland cycling team for this summer’s Commonwealth Games. ‘That really puts a knot in my chest. It’s not just discussing raw policy, you’re discussing people’s lives. But it’s also my life. And it’s my career and my competition.

‘That’s why it’s such a complex issue because it’s a collidingrights issue about women’s access to fair sport, trans access to safe sport and competitive fair sport.

‘The IOC caused confusion more than providing clear vision. That’s why I’m hoping that through these unified coalitions of scientific experts and stakeholders we’re going to find clarity.’

Sportsmail yesterday revealed the concerns of Mara Yamauchi, the former British Olympic marathon runner, over gender recognition reform currently passing through the Scottish Parliament. If passed, it would make it easier for individuals to change sex with no requirement for medical reports or evidence.

Yamauchi felt that prospect could see female athletes leave sport ‘in droves’ and said she was willing to testify to Holyrood’s human rights and civil justice committee.

Asked if she would be of a mind to do something similar, Archibald conceded she didn’t know enough about the bill to comment but would continue to make sure her voice was heard.

‘I will have to clue myself up on that,’ she admitted. ‘But my voice is listened to in British cycling and in UK sport through the Rider Representative Commission (RRC). So we have pathways in which we can be heard as athletes and that’s really valuable.’

Archibald’s most pressing issue, however, is just ensuring she is fit enough to compete at the Games in Birmingham after recent shoulder surgery.

‘Maybe it’s the insanity of the high-level athlete where you’re so convinced that you’re special so you can do it,’ she added. ‘So I’m still believing I’m special and I’ll be able to bring this around to a high performance in the individual pursuit. It’s going to be a big challenge but it’s one I’m ready to take on.’

• PARALYMPIC gold medal sprinter Libby Clegg has been selected for Scotland’s Commonwealth Games cycling squad after switching sports. The 32-year-old was among a 20-strong squad announced for the Birmingham event yesterday.

Clegg won double gold in the 100 and 200-metre events at Rio 2016 and retired from athletics after the Tokyo Games last year. The visually-impaired athlete, who gave birth to son Edward in 2019, announced her retirement from running after Tokyo before starting a new adventure in cycling.