Biological male runner wins women’s 1,500m event in Canada

50-year-old Tiffany Newell came in first place in the W50 1,500m race at the Canadian Masters Indoor Championships over the weekend, with the race being open to women aged 50 to 54, according to the Daily Mail.

Newell clocked a time of 05:07.611, coming over one minute faster than Newell’s only competitor in the division, Catherine Weber, who clocked a time of 06:19.358.

The victory comes a year after Newell set a new Canadian record in the 5000m race in the women’s 45-49 age category, finishing with a time of 18:02.30.

That record was ratified this year by Canadian Masters Athletics under the rules set forth by World Masters Athletics, according to Running Magazine.

According to the outlet, Newell began transitioning in 2017, and is a former soccer player and triathlete. Newell didn’t begin competing in Masters races until Newell’s transition was complete in 2020 and met testosterone levels set by World Athletics.

Under World Athletics policy, transgender athletes that want to compete in the women’s division need to a provide written and signed declaration of their gender identity and demonstrate that their testosterone levels are below 5 mol/L continuously for a period of at least 12 months, and must be kept under that level.

With calls growing for biological males to be barred from competing in women’s divisions, some have called for the creation of open categories to allow transgender athletes to compete in a division of their own.

Newell has rejected this proposition, telling Running Magazine, "the policy makes sense for non-binary athletes, but I don’t feel comfortable racing against men. It categorizes me in the sex I am not identified as. I am a woman, and I feel most comfortable racing against women or other transgender women. I believe an open category can work if athletes can continue to race against athletes of the same gender."