Transgender sprinter sparks outrage after changing gender from male to female and smashing 300m record at Rochester Institute of Technology: Riley Gaines slams unfair victories
By Will Potter For Dailymail.Com18:27 GMT 22 Dec 2023 , updated 18:37 GMT 22 Dec 2023A transgender athlete sparked backlash after smashing the 300m women's track record at the Rochester Institute of Technology.
Sadie Schreiner, formerly known as Camden, stormed to victory at a college track and field meet on December 8 at Nazareth University in New York, setting the new record with a time of 41.80 seconds.
Schreiner reportedly competed at the same meet a year ago in the men's category of the 100m, where she came home in 19th place.
Women's sports activist Riley Gaines, a former standout college swimmer who spoke out against transgender athletes after competing against controversial NCAA champion Lia Thomas, condemned the victory as it was 'set by a male.'
'This happens a lot for something that never happens,' she said on X.
Schreiner's win is only the latest incidence of a growing number of transgender athletes finding success in women's sports, as experts warn they hold an unfair physical advantage due to the effects of male puberty.
+8
View gallery
+8
View gallery
Schreiner's record braking efforts this month sparked fury among those who say she holds an unfair advantage over biological females, with her 300m time equivalent to only 41st place in the men's category.
After Gaines shared her disapproval at the victory, journalist Cindy Hoedel added that the mounting wins by transgender athletes is 'making a mockery of women's sports.'
'Women will have to spend years getting these men's times stripped. The women who won will eventually be acknowledged in record books but will never get back the stolen experience of standing atop the podium.'
Gaines has been a vocal opponent of transgender inclusion in women's sports, and testified before Congress this month as lawmakers consider changing Title IX regulations to support transgender inclusion.
There are numerous documented instances of males competing not just in women's swimming, but also in women's track, cross country, basketball, volleyball, field hockey, and other sports at all levels of competition,' Gaines said.
+8
View gallery
Riley Gaines fires back at 'misogynist' Rep. Summer Lee
'At the high school level, the participation of male athletes on women's teams is, arguably, one of the most underreported stories in the country.'
Her comments come after a number of transgender athletes have sparked backlash after winning women's sporting events across the country, including one North Carolina cycling race in August where a trans rider won by over five minutes.
Gaines previously testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee over her trauma at sharing a locker room with swimmer Lia Thomas, who caused controversy by becoming the first transgender athlete to win at the NCAA Championships in March 2022.
'In addition to being forced to give up our awards, our titles, and our opportunities, the NCAA forced me and my female swimmers to share a locker room with Thomas, a 6'4' 22-year-old male equipped with (and exposing) male genitalia,' Gaines said.
+8
View gallery
Debate has raged ever since, but it was initially raised as a point of contention after the emergence of Cece Telfer - who 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.
The following year, Laurel Hubbard, from New Zealand, became the first openly transgender woman to compete at the Olympics when she took part in weightlifting at the Tokyo games.
In April, champion cyclist Hannah Arensman heartbreakingly announced the end of her dream of competing in the Olympics after losing to a biological male, saying their inclusion meant she would 'lose no matter how hard I train.'
+8
View gallery
+8
View gallery
+8
View gallery
Tommy Lundberg, a lecturer in physiology at Sweden's Karolinska Institute and leading researcher on the subject, told DailyMail.com in March: 'The most important thing is whether or not you have benefited from male development and male puberty and if you've done that, you're going to have advantages you cannot undo later.'
This view was also shared by Nancy Hogshead, a former pro swimmer who won three gold medals and one silver at the 1984 Olympics, who told DailyMail.com: 'Trans women have an undeniable physical advantage.
'Their bodies do what male bodies do when they go through puberty and is the reason why we segregate sports ubiquitously around the world.
'Unless we're talking about just playing, just recreational sports. All competitive sports is xes-segregated.'
Notably, trans figurehead Caitlyn Jenner, who won gold in the male decathlon at the 1976 Olympics before becoming one of the world's best-known trans women, has also called Thomas's success 'anathema to what sports represents and the spirit of competition'.
