2GS The Sunday Times April 3, 2022 19ANDY JONESbigger heart that males are meant to
enjoy is actually now pumping less
efficient blood. She has almost non-
existent levels of testosterone, way
below the five nanomoles per litre
limit set by the IOC and most sporting
bodies, which means she can’t sustain
the same workload she could before.
That’s a crucial aspect everyone
seems to forget.
Elite athletes reach the highest level
because they have the talent, commit-
ment and mental attitude, and they
can cope with the training necessary
to be the best. Reducing testosterone
affects the latter, because you no
longer recover as well physically. Ask
anyone who has had to go through
prostate cancer treatment and they
tell you they’re tired, drained physi-
cally and mentally. They aren’t domi-
nating anything. That’s the reality of
reducing male hormones.
weightlifter — we were told her qualifi-
cation for the Tokyo Games was the
end of female sport. She qualified in
16th place and finished in 16th. Last.
I followed the news of Emily’s ineli-
gibility to compete this weekend at
the National Omnium Championships
in Derby and noted that one vital
piece of information was missing from
the reports. Her late exclusion was
not fully explained, just the insinua-
tion that somehow she had been
found out. The narrative was that
trans women competing is unfair and
that the UCI, cycling’s international
governing body, had stepped in to
stop British Cycling allowing this
travesty of justice happening.
The reality is more complicated. It
concerns UCI regulation 3.8.005,
which relates to national federations
and who governs which events. It
turns out that the Omnium Champion-
ships, despite being a national event,
is actually UCI-controlled. According
to UCI rules, any competitor who
wishes to be eligible to compete in the
category opposite to their birth sex
has to inform the UCI at least six weeks
before their first competition and
show evidence of 12 months’ reduced
testosterone in the case of male to
female. The evidence will then be
examined by an independent panel of
three medical experts. Seems clear.
Reading that you would think it
meant that six weeks before competi-
tion, you state your intention to race
in the female category, with an attes-
tation from a medical professional
saying that you have completed the 12
months. That’s what Bridges thought,
and that’s what British Cycling has as
its policy. However, the UCI has said
no, that’s not what it meant at all.
What the UCI wants is that once you
have nominated an event to be con-
sidered eligible for, and have submit-
ted your evidence, it takes six weeks
to consider it, but that only happens
after the athlete has completed the 12
months of reduced testosterone.
There is no mention of what or how
much evidence you are required to
supply. No statutory hormonal level
monitoring, no frequency of when
those levels are checked or a mini-mum number of proofs. Just an attes-
tation from a medical professional. It
could be a chiropodist or a dentist.
It’s laughable, but it’s not funny,
because Emily had already submitted
numerous blood tests showing the fall
in testosterone that comes with a
medical transition from male to
female. She’s sent in the data, the
power files from training sessions and
all her information when she didn’t
have to, and the UCI has been grateful
for the information. Her eligibility
hasn’t been stamped on by the UCI
under the guise of fairness or the lax-
ity of British Cycling — it’s due to its
complicated process and an unneces-
sary delay of six weeks to process an
email containing the information the
UCI requires. And even more poign-
antly, she’s been giving the UCI what it
ought to have been looking for in the
first place. Not just a doctor’s note.
And finally, what’s really galling in
talking about this issue is that while
everyone is crowing about fairness,
safety and all the other stuff, there is a
young woman — Emily is 21 — negotiat-
ing a medical process that will bring
her peace in who she is. She has so
many things to learn in so little time.
Emily was hoping to qualify to com-
pete for Wales at the Commonwealth
Games this year, but that requires UCI
points and there are no more events in
the right time scale that would allow
her to achieve that.
This is a young woman who enjoys
the thrills and endures the spills of
bike racing, who embraces the chal-
lenges and deals with the setbacks.
She’s shown remarkable dignity. If
she’s competitive it’ll be because she’s
talented, not because of her chromo-
somes, and if she does reach the level
required to compete with the Laura
Kennys of this world she may be part
of a British Cycling team who win
things. Then how will the detractors
react, because Emily Bridges would
be representing Great Britain, repre-
senting them? Modern Britain.
lPippa York, riding as Robert Millar,
was an elite professional cyclist for 16
seasons and completed her transition
in 2003. She sits on GB Cycling’s diver-
sity and inclusion advisory groupBridges isn’t
a threat to
women’s
sport and
she isn’t
cheating
anyone
out of their
place in
competitionThe transgender
cyclist Emily Bridges
claimed that she has
been “harassed and
demonised” after
being prevented
from racing at the
National Omnium
Championships.
The 21-year-old said
on Friday: “No one
should have to choose
between being
who they are and
participating in the
sport they love. As is
no surprise with most
of the British media,
I’ve been relentlessly
harassed and
demonised by those
who have a specific
agenda to push. They
print whatever is most
likely to result in the
highest engagement
for their articles.”BRIDGES: I WAS
DEMONISEDEmily isn’t just reducing testoster-
one to meet sporting criteria, she’s
transitioning to female, which means
she’s taking oestrogen, and that adds a
further element to how she copes. She
has another puberty to go through,
mood swings and all. Think of how
uncomfortable that was the first time
round and imagine doing that again
under the glare of media interest.
Trans athletes won’t be dominat-
ing. If they’re competitive it will be
because they were talented before
and that doesn’t disappear. What does
change is athletic ability. If you look at
the history since trans athletes were
allowed to compete by the IOC in
2004, not a single Olympic medal has
been won by a trans person. Not one
trans athlete has even got close.
Before the so-called scandals of Lia
Thomas and Emily Bridges, there was
Laurel Hubbard, the New Zealand4.02 (2m 11yd ch) 1 File Illico (Jonjo O’Neill Jr., 5-4
fav); 2 Shortcross Storm (7-2); 3 Getaway Luv (6-4).
NR: Balkardy, Siroco Jo. 2l, 6l. Jonjo O’Neill. Tote:
£2.25. Exacta: £5.40. CSF: £5.03
4.37 (2m 11yd hdle) 1 Coal Stock (Fergus Gillard, 3-1);
2 Port Or Starboard (6-1); 3 Halifax (12-1). 7 ran. 12l,
1¼l. C L Tizzard. Tote: £4.00; £2.20, £2.70. Exacta:
£23.20. CSF: £20.93. Trifecta: £197.40
5.07 (2m 11yd Flat) 1 Ginny’s Destiny (W T Kennedy,
2-1 fav); 2 Moonshine Spirit (10-1); 3 Mikhailovich
(9-4). 7 ran. 4½l, sh hd. T Lacey. Tote: £3.00; £1.60,
£3.70. Exacta: £19.70. CSF: £22.52. Trifecta: £49.60
Placepot: £22.00 Quadpot: £9.90
Lingfield Park
Going: standard
1.55 (1m 4f) 1 Miss Sligo (Saffie Osborne, 100-30);
2 Broad Appeal (6-1); 3 Scarboro Castle (5-2 fav). 6
ran. 3½l, 1¼l. J A Osborne. Tote: £4.34; £1.70, £3.00.
Exacta: £20.00. CSF: £22.74. Trifecta: £67.30
2.30 (7f 1yd) 1 Space Tracker (David Egan, 11-2);
2 Distant Light (12-1); 3 Whats In The Bag (4-1). 7 ran.
NR: Ower Independence. 1¾l, ½l. R Hughes. Tote:
£7.40; £2.60, £2.90. Exacta: £61.40. CSF: £64.80.
No 7 Ower Independence (66-1) was withdrawn not
under orders. Rule 4 does not apply. Trifecta:
£188.30
3.05 (7f 1yd) 1 Sayifyouwill (Rob Hornby, 11-4);
2 Flame of Freedom (9-1); 3 Dubai Lady (9-1). 6 ran.
Hd, 1½l. Mrs A J Perrett. Tote: £3.75; £1.70, £2.80.
Exacta: £21.90. CSF: £25.52. Trifecta: £102.80
3.40 (5f 6yd) 1 Night On Earth (Benoit D L Sayette,
17-2); 2 Bedford Flyer (100-30); 3 Strong Power (6-1).
7 ran. ¾l, nk. M Appleby. Tote: £9.50; £2.70, £2.20.
Exacta: £37.80. CSF: £35.50. Trifecta: £148.60
4.15 (1m 2f) 1 Sarvan (Darragh Keenan, 3-1 jt-fav);
2 Lammas (14-1); 3 Arenas Del Tiempo (12-1). 13 ran.
NR: Group One Power. ¾l, nk. George Scott. Tote:
£4.00; £1.70, £4.10, £2.90. Exacta: £42.50. CSF:
£44.78. Tricast: £450.20. Trifecta: £365.40
4.50 (1m 7f 169yd) 1 Induro De Fontaine (S M Levey,
11-2); 2 Estrela Star (6-1); 3 Ban Shoof (16-1). 10 ran.
1l, 1l. L Allan. Tote: £6.50; £1.90, £1.90, £4.20.
Exacta: £35.60. CSF: £38.35. Tricast: £498.645.20 (1m 1yd) 1 Bbob Alula (Liam Browne, 16-1);
2 Reformed Character (14-1); 3 Jeremiah Johnson
(11-4 fav). 11 ran. NR: Queen Sarabi. Hd, nk. W G M
Turner. Tote: £17.50; £4.40, £4.20, £1.50. Exacta:
£252.70. CSF: £220.69. Tricast: £811.53. Trifecta:
£1,593.70
5.50 (1m 1yd) 1 Rivas Rob Roy (Darragh Keenan,
13-2); 2 Dark Kris (13-8 fav); 3 Fact Or Fable (17-2).
9 ran. NR: Chetan, Shadow Angel, Well Prepared.
1l, 1¼l. J Gallagher. Tote: £8.10; £2.60, £1.30, £2.70.
Exacta: £23.00. CSF: £17.46. Tricast: £92.07.
Trifecta: £124.90
Placepot: £4,305.30 Quadpot: £56.70
Newbury
Going: good (good to soft in places)
1.00 (2m 69yd hdle) 1 Malakahna (Tom Buckley, 9-4);
2 The Plimsoll Line (6-1); 3 Surtitle (2-1 fav). 10 ran.
NR: Doublethetrouble, Inca De Lafayette, Storm Hill.
2l, 3¾l. Ian Williams. Tote: £3.25; £1.20, £2.00, £1.30.
Exacta: £16.80. CSF: £16.48. Trifecta: £50.30
1.35 (2m 2f 183yd hdle) 1 Mot A Mot (Charlie Deutsch,
11-4); 2 Royaume Uni (7-4 fav); 3 Mister Marbles (5-1).
6 ran. NR: Icone D’aubrelle, Pearly Island,
Punctuation, Surrey Quest. ¾l, 17l. S Thomas. Tote:
£3.75; £1.90, £1.50. Exacta: £8.00. CSF: £7.96.
Tricast: £19.25. Trifecta: £22.00
2.10 (2m 7f 86yd ch) 1 Bermeo (Bryan Carver, 7-2);
2 First Figaro (2-1 fav); 3 Vivas (12-1). 8 ran. NR:
Another Emotion, La Cavsa Nostra. 5l, 4¼l. H Fry.
Tote: £4.50; £1.60, £1.40, £3.70. Exacta: £13.90.
CSF: £11.56. Tricast: £73.20. Trifecta: £107.80
2.45 (2m 4f 118yd hdle) 1 Largy G (T J O’Brien, 14-1);
2 Nina The Terrier (9-4 fav); 3 Sabrina (9-1). 11 ran.
NR: Corey’s Courage, Lady Tremaine, Marsh Wren,
Speech Bubble, Walk In Clover. 1l, ¾l. Noel Williams.
Tote: £15.10; £4.00, £1.70, £2.00. Exacta: £65.50.
CSF: £47.27. Tricast: £314.66. Trifecta: £193.00
3.20 (2m 92yd ch) 1 Antunes (Harry Reed, 4-1);
2 Doukarov (6-4 fav); 3 Glajou (4-1). 6 ran. NR:
Monsieur Lecoq. 1¼l, 20l. M F Harris. Tote: £5.00;
£2.10, £1.30. Exacta: £11.30. CSF: £11.13. Trifecta:
£35.403.55 (2m 3f 187yd ch) 1 Lalor (H Cobden, 5-1);
2 Al Dancer (85-40 fav); 3 Barton Knoll (8-1). 5 ran.
Nk, 11l. P F Nicholls. Tote: £6.00; £2.20, £1.60.
Exacta: £16.70. CSF: £15.90
4.30 (2m 69yd Flat) 1 Leave Of Absence (Joshua
Moore, 8-15 fav); 2 Boom Boom (9-4); 3 My Gift To
You (66-1). 5 ran. NR: Bubble Dubi, Scotch On Da
Rocks, Sea Village. 6l, 21l. C Gordon. Tote: £1.54;
£1.10, £1.30. Exacta: £1.90. CSF: £1.98. Trifecta:
£15.00
Placepot: £10.00 Quadpot: £7.30
Wolverhampton
Going: standard
5.30 (1m 1f 104yd) 1 Captain Kane (B A Curtis, 7-2);
2 The Writer (5-4 fav); 3 Gurkhali Warrior (9-2).
13 ran. ½l, ½l. George Scott. Tote: £4.50; £1.50,
£1.10, £1.90. Exacta: £10.90. CSF: £8.60. Tricast:
£21.59. Trifecta: £37.20
6.00 (1m 142yd) 1 Eshtora (James Doyle, 15-8 fav);
2 Mashaaer (5-2); 3 Lucia Joy (7-2). 6 ran. ¾l, 1¼l.
S E Crisford. Tote: £2.88; £1.40, £1.70. Exacta:
£6.70. CSF: £6.99. Trifecta: £14.30
6.30 (1m 142yd) 1 Pope Gregory (J P Spencer,
5-2 fav); 2 Gigi’s Beach (17-2); 3 Zefferino (22-1).
12 ran. NR: Cents In The City. Sh hd, nk. P D Evans.
Tote: £3.50; £1.60, £3.00, £7.00. Exacta: £28.30.
CSF: £24.30. Tricast: £391.45. Trifecta: £379.50
7.00 (6f 20yd) 1 Lethal Nymph (Hector Crouch, 2-1);
2 Roshambo (12-1); 3 Fly To Glory (4-6 fav). 7 ran.
2½l, 2¼l. C G Cox. Tote: £3.00; £1.30, £3.30. Exacta:
£18.90. CSF: £24.23. Trifecta: £35.40
7.30 (1m 5f 219yd) 1 Clap Your Hands (Hayley Turner,
6-4 fav); 2 Chase The Dollar (11-4); 3 Midrarr (14-1).
5 ran. NR: Finniston Farm. ½l, 2l. D M Simcock. Tote:
£2.50; £1.30, £1.40. Exacta: £5.30. CSF: £5.81.
Trifecta: £24.20
8.00 (6f 20yd) 1 Sarah’s Verse (Laura Pearson,
9-2); 2 Light Lily (100-30 jt-fav); 3 Amazing Amaya
(6-1). 8 ran. ½l, nk. R Harris. Tote: £6.10; £2.10,
£1.60, £2.10. Exacta: £23.10. CSF: £20.26. Tricast:
£91.108.30 (2m 120yd) 1 Man Of Riddles (J P Spencer, 2-5
fav); 2 Sweet Dime (11-1); 3 Deluxe Music (9-2). 4 ran.
NR: Second Kingdom. 1l, nk. D M Simcock. Tote:
£1.40. Exacta: £4.90. CSF: £5.43. Trifecta: £7.30
Placepot: £34.30 Quadpot: £22.30
Leopardstown
Going: good (good to yielding in places)
2.00 (1m) 1 Hotel Wren (O J Orr, 8-1); 2 Janoobi (2-1);
3 Point Gellibrand (13-8 fav). 17 ran. Sh hd, 3½l.
N Meade. Tote: €9.00; €2.00, €1.60, €1.20. Exacta:
€29.00. CSF: €25.58. Trifecta: €62.80
2.35 (7f) 1 Dr Zempf (C T Keane, 11-10 fav); 2 The
Acropolis (12-1); 3 New Energy (11-2). 8 ran. ½l, 1l.
G M Lyons. Tote: €2.10; €1.10, €3.00, €2.10. Exacta:
€13.80. CSF: €15.98. Trifecta: €96.60
3.10 (7f) 1 Homeless Songs (C D Hayes, 6-1);
2 Agartha (15-2); 3 Villanova Queen (22-1). 11 ran.
NR: Star Girls Aalmal. 1l, ¾l. D K Weld. Tote: €7.30;
€2.20, €1.80, €4.60. Exacta: €55.30. CSF: €49.15.
Trifecta: €515.90
3.45 (1m 2f) 1 Piz Badile (G M Ryan, 4-1); 2 Buckaroo
(9-2); 3 Duke De Sessa (10-3 fav). 9 ran. Sh hd, 3¾l.
Donnacha O’Brien. Tote: €5.00; €1.80, €1.20, €1.50.
Exacta: €19.70. CSF: €22.62. Trifecta: €81.60
4.20 (1m 2f) 1 Simply Glorious (G M Ryan, 14-1);
2 Enthrallment (5-1); 3 Cyclamen (12-1). 10 ran.
Nk, hd. Donnacha O’Brien. Tote: €15.00; €4.00,
€1.90, €2.10. Exacta: €77.80. CSF: €83.17. Tricast:
€880.84. Trifecta: €235.50
4.55 (1m) 1 Haziya (M P Sheehy, 13-8 fav); 2 Jungle
Cove (11-1); 3 Coins Cross (11-1); 4 Khafaaq (22-1).
17 ran. 3l, nk. J P O’Brien. Tote: €2.63; €1.10, €1.80,
€3.20, €5.10. Exacta: €24.40. CSF: €20.21. Tricast:
€169.72. Trifecta: €428.20
5.25 (1m) 1 Zahee (Cillian McConnell, 16-1);
2 Massaman (100-30); 3 Jaafel (11-5 fav). 14 ran.
NR: Pride Of Pimlico, Tyrion’s Dream. 2½l, ¾l. J C
McConnell. Tote: €17.00; €2.90, €1.30, €1.50.
Exacta: €64.90. CSF: €64.44. Tricast: €175.97.
Trifecta: €89.70
Placepot: €97.50£2.30, £2.50, £17.30. Exacta: £37.20. CSF: £46.76.
Tricast: £406.77. Trifecta: £466.10
4.10 (2m 5f 91yd hdle) 1 Bass Rock (Ryan Mania, 11-10
fav); 2 Enemy Coast Ahead (15-8); 3 Hunters Call
(5-1). 4 ran. NR: Aurora Thunder, Elvis Mail. 1½l, 1¾l.
A M Thomson. Tote: £2.10. Exacta: £3.50. CSF: £3.63
4.45 (2m 4f 100yd hdle) 1 Getareason (Peter
Coleman, 9-2); 2 Could Be Trouble (15-2); 3 Better
Getalong (16-1). 10 ran. NR: Donna’s Double,
Platinumcard, Skatman. 1l, 1½l. R Menzies. Tote:
£5.50; £1.90, £1.90, £3.10. Exacta: £28.60. CSF:
£37.51. Tricast: £500.06. Trifecta: £187.60
5.15 (2m Flat) 1 Autumn Return (B S Hughes, 11-4 fav);
2 Magic Wave (9-2); 3 Idem (8-1). 8 ran. Hd, 2¼l. Ruth
Jefferson. Tote: £3.75; £1.40, £1.80, £2.50. Exacta:
£16.10. CSF: £15.60. Trifecta: £65.50
Placepot: £35.90 Quadpot: £6.20
Chepstow
Going: good
1.08 (2m 11yd hdle) 1 Tarahumara (Thomas Bellamy,
9-4); 2 Lord Bill (100-1); 3 Hermes Boy (4-9 fav).
14 ran. 7½l, nk. Miss E C Lavelle. Tote: £3.30; £1.10,
£15.80, £1.10. Exacta: £311.10. CSF: £204.42.
Trifecta: £819.70
1.42 (2m 7f 131yd ch) 1 Wayfinder (Ben Jones, 11-4
fav); 2 Clemencia (4-1); 3 Premiumaccess (8-1).
7 ran. 4¼l, 21l. Miss R Curtis. Tote: £3.75; £2.10,
£2.30. Exacta: £15.30. CSF: £14.31. Trifecta: £69.80
2.17 (2m 3f 100yd hdle) 1 Heron Creek (Charlie
Hammond, 3-1 jt-fav); 2 Isle Of Aron (3-1 jt-fav);
3 Methusalar (12-1). 12 ran. 4¾l, ns. Dr R D P Newland.
Tote: £4.10; £1.80, £1.50, £2.20. Exacta: £16.10.
CSF: £12.19. Tricast: £96.18. Trifecta: £112.10
2.52 (2m 3f 100yd hdle) 1 Benito (Thomas Bellamy,
85-40 fav); 2 Sevenofus (16-1); 3 Cheer’s Delboy
(14-1). 12 ran. 10l, 11l. T Lacey. Tote: £3.13; £1.60,
£4.60, £3.30. Exacta: £41.70. CSF: £33.44. Tricast:
£399.56. Trifecta: £394.30
3.27 (2m 3f 98yd ch) 1 Ballinsker (Isabel Williams, 6-4
fav); 2 Discko Des Plages (9-2); 3 Trumps Benefit (11-
2). 6 ran. 12l, nk. Evan Williams. Tote: £2.50; £1.60,
£2.20. Exacta: £8.40. CSF: £9.13. Trifecta: £24.20
Bridges was set to compete in the Omnium Championships until an intervention by UCI