A trans runner who beat over 14,000 women while competing in the female category of the London Marathon has admitted he is “not a woman” and offered to return the medal he received for his performance.
Glenique Frank, a man identifying as a woman who ran in the NYC Marathon as a man last year, “made use of a loophole in Athletics UK’s new rules excluding biological males who have gone through puberty from competing in women’s events to run the London Marathon on Sunday,” Breitbart’s Oliver JJ Lane reports.
Competing under the name “Frank,” the 54-year-old trans runner finished the race in four hours, 11 minutes, and 28 seconds, according to the Daily Telegraph. That time was good enough to place 6,160th out of the 20,123 women in the female category. However, as the Telegraph notes, that run time would have placed Frank at the comparatively lowly 15,386th place had he been competing in the men’s category.
After granting an interview in which he appeared in a sports bra complete with a rainbow flag, Frank announced that he was soon going to be a “granny.” Though, the real effect of the interview was to capture the attention of two-time British Olympian Mara Yamauchi, who quickly blasted Frank for competing in a category he had no business competing in.
This male ran in yesterday’s #LondonMarathon as Glenique Frank in the female category (Mass race) finishing in 6160th place out of 20123. So nearly 14,000 actual females suffered a worse finish position bc of him.
Last month, he ran in the Tokyo Marathon, as Glen Frank, also… https://t.co/u2UmaFBSns
— Mara Yamauchi (@mara_yamauchi) April 24, 2023
The backlash stemming from Yamauchi and the thousands of others who blasted Frank online has compelled the trans runner to offer to return his medal.
“If they want me to give my medal back, I’ll say, ‘OK, fine. No problem,’” Fran told the New York Post.
“If they really think I’ve stolen the place [of a female runner], I don’t mind giving the medal back, because I’ll run again next year for charity.
“But I don’t want to apologize, because I didn’t do anything wrong,” Frank stated firmly — saying she was only sorry for “upsetting” her critics, who she maintained were mostly “haters.”
“They’re angry because they’re saying that one of 14,000 women behind me could have had my place. Really? I did [the race in] 4 hours 11 minutes. There’s lots of women that beat me,” noted Frank, who came in 6,159th place in the female category.
London Marathon (Getty Images)
“I get it … I’m not a woman, I don’t have a womb. But I didn’t compete as an elite, so I didn’t steal any money.”
As Breitbart’s Oliver JJ Lane reports:
While UK Athletics banned biological males from competing in women’s events earlier this year, they left a loophole, called ‘transitional arrangements,’ which would allow those who had already competed to carry on doing so, only forcing new entrants into sports to compete as their own sex. A report at the time defined the carve-out as continuing to allow: ‘any transgender athlete who has already entered a competition or event in the category that is not their biological sex… but may not accept any prize and their results will not count towards any record, qualifying time or mark, or team scoring.’
So while Frank ran within the new rules, Yamauchi said those rules remained ‘wrong and unfair’ to biological women.
Frank does intend to compete in next year’s London Marathon. Though, he says he will not check “female” on his entry form. Instead, he says he will check “male” or “other.”