Mother and Daughter Track Athletes Speak Out on Competing Against Biological Males

Mother and daughter Cynthia and Margaret Monteleone share a deep love of running and competition. But after they both ran against biological men in track events, they knew they needed to do something to defend their right to a level playing field.  "I think everyone should compete," Cynthia Monteleone said. "I think all athletes should compete. There is no banning anyone. But that being said, there needs to be a distinction to keep the sport fair and to keep biological women advancing in the opportunities available to them." Cynthia Monteleone is a World Masters Athletics track athlete and also coaches girls track at the middle school, high school, and elite level in Maui, Hawaii. In 2018, she faced off against a biological male during a track competition in Malaga, Spain. About a year and a half later, her daughter competed against another transgender athlete during her high school track meet.    "I was a little bit disheartened," Margaret Monteleone said of placing second to a biological male in her high school track meet. "I'd worked so hard through the whole year, just training for this first-ever meet [of] my season. ... I could have gotten first in the heat, and it was really disappointing to me to see my hard work pay off just for second place." Now, the mother and daughter are speaking out in defense of female athletes and their right to fair competition. They join the “Problematic Women” podcast to share their experience running against biological men and how they are advocating for the future of women’s sports.  Also on today’s show, we discuss why athlete Gwen Berry turned her back on the U.S. flag during the national anthem at the Olympic trials. And as always, we’ll be crowning our “Problematic Woman of the Week.” Enjoy the show! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices