The Nation's First Provincial Sports Festival 'Declaration of Participation'
Already a 'Hot Topic' in the Overseas Sports Community
For the first time in South Korea, a transgender female athlete will participate in the cycling competition at the Gangwon Provincial Sports Festival.
According to Yonhap News on the 1st, Na Hwarin (37), who runs an asparagus farm in Cheorwon, has announced her candidacy for the cycling competition at the Gangwon Provincial Sports Festival. She has physical attributes of 180cm in height, 72kg in weight, and 32.7kg of skeletal muscle mass.
She underwent gender reassignment surgery last year. Therefore, her gender is currently female, and the last digit of her resident registration number has also changed to 2. There are no restrictions other than gender for participation in the women's division, so Na's eligibility to compete is not an issue.
Na Hwa-rin, a transgender female athlete challenging the Provincial Sports Festival for the first time in Korea. [Image source=Yonhap News]
Na previously won four events, including the men's general 1km time trial and 4km individual pursuit, at the 47th Gangwon Provincial Sports Festival held in 2012. This weekend, she will participate in three women's events at the 58th Gangwon Provincial Sports Festival cycling competition held in Yangyang, Gangwon Province.
When asked about her purpose for entering the competition, Na stated, "I want to be a subject of controversy."
She said, "I am well aware that if I win an award, I will not gain public sympathy or recognition, and ultimately it will not be honorable. But it is also true that I, who was once male and am now female, undeniably exist."
She continued, "Ultimately, through this life-risking participation, I want to talk about distinction rather than discrimination. It is about creating a space for sexual minorities to squeeze into categories strictly divided by male and female."
If Na achieves excellent results in this competition, she could gain a favorable position for participation in the National Sports Festival. The National Sports Festival also has no regulations other than requiring participants to be "men and women with South Korean nationality."
Na said, "If my participation in the National Sports Festival takes someone else's place, I will deeply reconsider, but if not, I will gladly step onto that stage."
Transgender Athletes Already a 'Hot Topic' in Overseas Sports Circles
Transgender swimmer Lia Thomas, who won the women's 500-yard freestyle event held in Atlanta, USA. [Image source=Yonhap News]
Meanwhile, the participation of sexual minorities in sports competitions has already become a hot topic overseas.
In March last year, Emily Bridges (21), a transgender cyclist in the UK, was notified by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) that she was not eligible to participate in competitions.
Bridges, who had come out as transgender and was undergoing hormone therapy transitioning from male to female, had to give up participation due to fairness issues with other female athletes.
As cases increase where transgender women who went through puberty with male bodies, gaining more muscle and strength, compete in women's divisions and achieve excellent results, overseas sports circles are adding various regulations for transgender women's participation in women's events or establishing rules to prohibit their participation.
In fact, some U.S. state governments are proposing bills to ban transgender athletes from competing in women's sports.
In April, the Kansas State Legislature passed the "Fairness in Women's Sports Act."
Kansas House Republican leaders explained in a statement, "The Fairness in Women's Sports Act protects the rights of female athletes by limiting female student-athlete team members to those who are biologically female."
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