A biological male who identifies as a transgender woman won a women’s world championship cycling event on Sunday.
Rachel McKinnon, a professor at the College of Charleston, won the women’s 35-39 age bracket at the 2018 UCI Masters Track Cycling World Championships in Los Angeles, California.
McKinnon, representing Canada, bested Carolien Van Herrikhuyzen of the Netherlands and American cyclist Jennifer Wagner to take home the gold.
Allowing biological males who identify as transgender women to compete in women’s athletic events has been a controversial subject, as critics have argued that it puts the female competitors at an inherent disadvantage.

McKinnon celebrated the victory on Twitter, writing: “First transgender woman world champion … ever.” Later, the professor responded to criticism from “transphobic bigots” by tweeting:

Lots of transphobic bigots are responding to my world championship win saying that ‘Next up, the paralympics.’ Hey women, you realize that ALL of these people (many of them women) are comparing you to disabled people…right? Women = ‘disabled men’ they think. Wow. Offensive. pic.twitter.com/K5cbZgaOMc

— Dr. Rachel McKinnon (@rachelvmckinnon) October 14, 2018

“First transgender woman world champion … ever.” Later, the professor responded to criticism from “transphobic bigots”.