Trans woman beats 13-year-old girl in women’s skateboard contest

A 29-year-old transgender woman has beaten a 13-year-old girl to win first prize in a skateboarding competition in New York, reigniting debate over whether new pushes for inclusivity are creating an unfair advantage in the sport feminine.

Ricci Tres, from Los Angeles, who was born a man but now identifies as a woman, won the women’s division of the Boardr Open street skateboarding competition and a $500 prize, along with Shiloh Catori, 13, from Florida, in second place and win a prize of $250.

Four of the six finalists were under 17, the youngest being 10-year-old Juri Iikura, who came fifth. At 29, Tres was the oldest contestant.

Tres is 838 in the Boardr World Rankings, compared to 133 for Catori.

The transgender athlete’s victory sparked outrage on social media among critics, who blasted Boardr Open for allowing a much older competitor assigned a male at birth to face biological women – many of whom have more than half his age.

Skateboarder Taylor Silverman led the chorus of discontent, writing in an Instagram post: “Male wins women’s final and silver at Boardr Open NYC presented by DC today. My story is not unique in skateboarding.

Silverman, who has been skateboarding for 11 years, has previously complained on social media about losing to transgender rivals twice, including at the Redbull Cornerstone competition in May, when she missed out on $5,000 in prize money. finishing second.

« I deserved to be first, to be recognized for my victory and to be paid, » she wrote. « I contacted Redbull and was ignored. I’m sick of being bullied into silence.

Silverman’s May 17 post drew a mixed response, with some users fully supporting her stance, while others accusing her of being a sore loser, with one commenter writing, « lol or you might just…be better at skating and winning the already fair competition? »

Christina Pushaw, spokeswoman for Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, questioned the age disparity among Big Apple competitors.

« Why are 28-29 year olds in competition with children? » she wondered in a tweet.

The controversy sparked by the skateboarding contest comes amid a broader national conversation about whether male-to-female transgender athletes have an unfair competitive advantage over biological women.

The problem came to a head in March, when University of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas became the first transgender woman to win the NCAA Division I swimming championship.

Last week, swimming’s world governing body FINA banned most transgender female athletes from competing at all major events, including the Olympics.