Transgender collegiate athlete Camden (Sadie) Schreiner has broken two records for track and field at New York’s Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT). Schreiner set records in the 200-meter and 300-meter events at the recent RIT January Friday Meet, also qualifying for the Atlantic Region Championship. The Independent Council on Women’s Sports (ICONS) criticized Schreiner’s record-breaking performance, asserting that women’s records should be held by biological women.
Some prominent athletes, such as Olympic marathon runner Mara Yamauchi and former University of Kentucky swimmer Riley Gaines, voiced similar criticisms. Both Yamauchi and Gaines suggested recognizing transgender female athletes in women’s sports categories leads to men unfairly claiming women’s records.
The issue has sparked controversy within the national sports scene, with similar cases involving other transgender athletes, such as University of Pennsylvania’s swimmer Lia Thomas. Like Schreiner, Thomas has faced backlash for competing in female events, with detractors arguing that his achievements undermine the integrity of women’s collegiate records. Thomas is reportedly seeking to overturn an existing ban on transgender athletes competing in women’s categories at the 2024 Olympic trials.
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