Transgender female dominates at Masters Track Cycling World Championships

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Transgender cyclist Rachel McKinnon won a gold medal and set a women's world record in qualifying at the 2019 Masters Track Cycling World Championships on Saturday in Manchester, England.

McKinnon, a professor of philosophy at the College of Charleston, won the gold medal in the women's 35-39 sprint category. The BBC reported that McKinnon, a biological male, also set a women's world record during the qualifying round. She represented Canada in the event.

In an interview about her win, McKinnon told Sky News that even though she has an apparent advantage over some of the other female competitors, it would be unfair to exclude her from competing.

In March, McKinnon said the exclusion of transgender women from women's sports was comparable to excluding black women from women's sports.

In addition to the gold medal, McKinnon took the silver she won in the earlier 500m time trial.

Victoria Hood, a former British Masters champion, told the BBC that some of her fellow riders "sacrificed" the opportunity to participate in the World Championships because they didn't want to compete against McKinnon.

"The science is there," Hood said. "The science is clear — it tells us that trans women have an advantage. ... The world record has just been beaten today by somebody born male, who now identifies as female, and the gap between them and the next born female competitor was quite a lot.

McKinnon fired back at Hood's proclamation in a lengthy statement, which she shared across social media.

A portion of her scathing response read, "Ms. Hood has expressed an irrational fear of trans women. An irrational fear of trans women is the dictionary definition of transphobia. Transphobia has no place in sport."