Letters | Be inclusive and give transgender athletes like swimmer Lia Thomas their trophy – in a separate category
- Readers suggest that transgender sporting achievements be in a class of their own and criticise the abrasive US overture towards China on Russia
A transgender athlete should win a medal based on her actual finish. However, the top three cisgender women in an event should receive gold, silver and bronze medals regardless of whether one or more trans women finished ahead of them.
A relay team with a trans woman should be treated in the same way. In one-on-one events such as tennis, a repêchage system should be developed so that if a cisgender woman is defeated by a trans woman, she can continue in the competition against other cisgender women.
Potentially there could be two gold medals, one for an undefeated athlete and one for a cisgender athlete undefeated by other cisgender women. All medals of a given colour should have the same weight in determining a team’s standing.
Having multiple medals in the same event based on a physical difference is no more unusual than having multiple medals for different weight classes in boxing or weightlifting.
This approach would allow for all athletes to be recognised for their ability regardless of their gender identity.
Bruce Couchman, Ottawa, Canada
Why is the US blundering about with China?
China has made it clear it seeks a peaceful resolution of the conflict in Ukraine and thus the idea that it would be adding fuel to the fire by supplying weapons to Russia is just ludicrous.
The US is clearly overstretched, having imposed sanctions on so many parties, to the point that it is even considering buying oil from sanctioned Venezuela. Yet, the US opted for a condescending tone towards China when a cordial overture could have been made. The US could have seized the opportunity to try to persuade China to cooperate on an economic front.
A conflict with devastating consequences is already raging in Ukraine, we do not need another one.
Jose Alvares, Macau