Glenique Frank competed in the women’s division during the London Marathon.
Mara Yamauchi, two-time Olympian runner, did not mince words when discussing the topic of a transgender athlete competing at the London Marathon over the weekend and defeating thousands of female athletes.
Yamauchi competed for Great Britain in the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, finishing sixth in the marathon. As a long-time distance runner, Yamauchi spoke her mind on Glenique Frank competing in the female category.
“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.”
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
Yamauchi referenced Frank competing at the Tokyo as a man named Glen. She also noted that United Kingdom Athletics applied World Athletics rules on the exclusion of transgender women from female competitions.
“This male competed under U.K. Athletics’ transitional arrangements, but it is still wrong and unfair,” Yamauchi told Telegraph Sport.
Frank Offers To Give Back Medal After Marathon
Frank defeated nearly 14,000 women at the London Marathon in the female category. He finished in 6,159th place after completing the marathon in 4 hours, 11 minutes. Frank told the New York Post that he is willing to give the medal back but will continue to run for charity.
“If they want me to give my medal back, I’ll say ‘Okay, fine. No problem.’ 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.”
Frank continues to say that he will not apologize for competing because he feels he did not do anything wrong.
“I don’t want to apologize because I didn’t do anything wrong. They’re really angry because they’re saying that one of 14,000 women behind me could have had my place. Really?…There’s a lot of women who beat me.”
In March, a court has ruled that transgender women will be able to compete in USA Powerlifting moving forward. This notion came after JayCee Cooper originally filed the case back in January 2021 after being denied entry into certain powerlifting events. The USAPL then banned transgender women from competing in its events.
For more news and updates, follow Generation Iron on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
