UK Olympians Take Issue With Parkrun's Self-ID Gender Rules That Allow Men To Compete As Women

A pair of athletes who have represented Great Britain at the Olympics are not happy with Parkrun, an organization that holds weekly running events.

Parkrun hosts 5k events across the globe that invite participants to walk, run, or jog. These events, according to the organization's website, are meant to bring communities together.

Also according to the organization's website: "Parkrun is positive, welcoming and inclusive, there is no time limit and no one finishes last. Everyone is welcome to come along."

That's all well and good, but I think you know where this is headed...

According to the Daily Mail, former British elite marathon runner Mara Yamauchi spoke out against the organization. This was after it came to light that a women's record at one event had been "smashed to smithereens by a trans-identifying male."

But wait there's more. Another women's record is held by a biological male. One who was convicted of trying to murder an athletics official in the UK.

Transgender Parkrun Record Holder Attacked UK Athletics Official; Olympians Speak Out

Lauren Jeska is the transgender runner who holds the women's record at the event in Aberystwyth, Wales. But the 42-year-old, Oxford-educated runner is better known for attacking Ralph Knibbs, the head of human resources for UK Athletics in 2016.

Knibbs was stabbed repeatedly in the attack and sustained life-threatening injuries, but survived. Jeska was handed an 18-year prison sentence.

However, before the attack, Jeska broke the Parkrun woman's record at Aberystwyth and still holds it to this day.

Not a great look for Parkrun, that's for sure.

And once this tidbit of info surfaced others decided to speak out. This included Sharron Davies, a former British Olympic swimmer. She ripped Parkrun's rules that allowed the likes of Jeska to compete against women.

"It's safe to say it is ridiculous any course records for women are held by someone who is a biological male and even more insulting when that person committed a crime when they got furious when asked to provide result for a testosterone test to be eligible to run at all," Davies said.

According to the Daily Mail, Parkrun officials have said that because their events are fun runs. Therefore, they argue, it would not be "appropriate or practical" to require proof of gender identity or to "adjudicate the validity of a person's gender identity."

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Matt is a University of Central Florida graduate and a long-suffering Philadelphia Flyers fan living in Orlando, Florida. He can usually be heard playing guitar, shoe-horning obscure quotes from The Simpsons into conversations, or giving dissertations to captive audiences on why Iron Maiden is the greatest band of all time.