Posts

Boston Marathon Allows Male ‘Transgender’ Runners to Compete as Women

/0 Comments/in , /by

By Life Site News. The annual Boston Marathon begins on Monday, April 16, but this year the event comes with a dose of transgender politics.

At least five men who openly identify as women are slated to compete next week, and will be recognized under their “gender identity” rather than their biological sex, the Associated Press reports.

“We take people at their word. We register people as they specify themselves to be,” Boston Athletic Association head Tom Grilk said. “Members of the LGBT community have had a lot to deal with over the years, and we’d rather not add to that burden.” He added that there was little debate over the decision within the organization.

The Boston Athletic Association clarified to NPR that while this is how the marathon will operate in practice, it has no written policy that specifically addresses transgendered runners.

“We don’t require that runners outline their gender identity history with us, so we can’t say for certain how many trans runners are in our race,” it said in a statement. “We do know that we have had several transgender runners in the past.” (Read more from “Boston Marathon Allows Male ‘Transgender’ Runners to Compete as Women” HERE)

_________________________________________

Boston, Other Marathons Say Trans Men Can Compete as Women

By AP. . .Several other major marathons said they have no official policies but are taking a similar approach to Boston. Organizers of the Chicago, New York City, London and Los Angeles marathons all said they honor the gender that runners submit during sign-ups.

“We want to be inclusive and sensitive to all of our participants,” said Carey Pinkowski, Chicago Marathon executive race director. “At this point, we don’t feel that we need to require legal or medical records or anything along those lines.” . . .

In elite competition, debate has mostly focused on transgender “women”, who typically require surgery or medication to lower their testosterone levels. Olympic officials issued new rules in 2016 saying trans women can compete if their testosterone levels stay beneath a certain limit, and many professional races now follow similar rules. (Read more from “Boston, Other Marathons Say Trans Women Can Compete as Women” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.

Wounded Marine Who Lost Leg in Afghanistan Finishes Boston Marathon

/0 Comments/in , /by

Staff Sgt. Jose Luis Sanchez, a former Marine who lost the lower part of his left leg during a 2011 tour in Afghanistan, finished the Boston Marathon for the second time Monday.

Sanchez used a prosthetic blade running leg and competed on behalf of Team Semper Fi, a charity that “provides immediate financial assistance and lifetime support to post-9/11 wounded, critically ill and injured members of all branches of the U.S. Armed Forces.”

“I just felt that I had to run the Boston Marathon. I wanted to run the race and support the bombing survivors, to show them that life goes on and all you have to do is just push through it,” Sanchez told Uproxx days before his first Boston Marathon in 2016.

Sanchez told GrindTV he lost much of his drive after suffering his wound in Afghanistan.

“The injury humbled me. I lost all my muscle mass. I lost a ton of weight. I couldn’t walk or move or stand up. I needed assistance just to get out of my wheelchair, and even then I couldn’t walk more than a foot without collapsing,” Sanchez lamented. (Read more from “Wounded Marine Who Lost Leg in Afghanistan Finishes Boston Marathon” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.