The women who won second and third place at a Colorado cycling race refused to show up to the podium for photo ops after a man claiming to be a transgender “woman” won a race in the women’s category on Sunday.
Colorado resident Lesley Mumford, who claims to have “transitioned” to a woman in 2017, won the top spot in the women’s category at Sunday’s 100-mile Desert Gravel Co2Ut. Still, he stood on the winner’s stand-alone when the runners-up refused to attend the medal ceremony, according to the New York Post.
“I have no idea why so many people bailed before the podiums, but they did,” Mumford wrote as a caption to a photo showing him standing alone on the winner’s stand.
“I swear I wasn’t the only one in my age group,” he added.
Mumford was sixth overall in the women’s category and beat out 35 female competitors.
The paper added that the race did have an official “non-binary” category, but Mumford did not enter it, preferring to compete as a woman.
Mumford didn’t just win in the 40-49 female age group, either. He totally blew the runners-up out of the water, beating the second-place woman by 17 minutes and the third-place winner by a whopping half an hour.
Neither the second-placed Lindsey Kriete nor the third-placed Michelle Van Sickle has explained publicly why they skipped the winner’s stand photo op. Still, many are calling their disappearance a “silent protest,” including three-time Olympian, 10-time National Champion, and medalist at the Tour de France, Inga Thompson.
“The women are refusing to stand on the podium with the man! Well done!!!” Thompson wrote.
The silent protests are starting! The women are refusing to stand on the podium with the man! Well done!!! https://t.co/QazFxeoBLc
— Inga Thompson Fdn OLY💚💜 (@ithompsonfdn) May 16, 2023
Former NCAA swimming champion Riley Gaines also praised the two who skipped the photo op and left the transgender athlete standing alone.
“Enough is enough!” Gaines tweeted. “Empty podium except for the male who naturally finished atop all the women in the women’s category. Despite there being a non-binary/trans category he easily could have competed in. Keep it up girls!”
Enough is enough! Empty podium except for the male who naturally finished atop all the women in the women’s category. Despite there being a non-binary/trans category he easily could have competed in. Keep it up girls! #SaveWomensSports https://t.co/OcFnyUezYi
— Riley Gaines (@Riley_Gaines_) May 16, 2023
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