Canadian cyclist Rachel McKinnon is calling out “transphobic bigots” on Twitter after she reportedly became the first trans woman to ever win gold at the UCI Masters Track Cycling World Championships in Los Angeles.

Ms. McKinnon, who is also an assistant professor in the department of philosophy at the College of Charleston in South Carolina, placed first in the women’s sprint 35-44 age bracket on Sunday. She celebrated the news on Twitter, sparking a wave of criticism for purportedly having an unfair advantage over the other female athletes.

Unfair advantage and not to be celebrated. Look at the difference in size and muscle mass. Of course you were going to win. — Libs G (@libsg41) October 14, 2018

It’s time for ALL sports to define gender categories as biological birth gender. — Hmmmph (@scepticalists) October 15, 2018

Is it possible to fully support trans ppl, acknowledge their gender does not match their biological sex, and maintain they should only physically compete against ppl of the same biological sex (b/c males have inherent physical advantage over females)? Or is it all or nothing now? — Dave Kozin (@SolarRascal) October 14, 2018

Ms. McKinnon fired back at the so-called “transphobic bigots,” who according to her know nothing about science and “pesky facts.”

Lots of transphobic bigots are responding to my world championship win saying that ‘Next up, the paralympics.’ Hey women, you realize that ALL of these people (many of them women) are comparing you to disabled people…right? Women = ‘disabled men’ they think. Wow. Offensive. pic.twitter.com/K5cbZgaOMc — Dr. Rachel McKinnon (@rachelvmckinnon) October 14, 2018

The offensive part is not ‘being compared to disabled people’ because disabled people are contemptible. No, that’s super ableist. But effectively saying that women are ‘disabled men’ is both deeply misogynistic *and* ableist. Double-whammy. Bigots are horrible people. — Dr. Rachel McKinnon (@rachelvmckinnon) October 14, 2018

THREAD: Facts on the physiology of transgender athletics. I’m not sorry if they’re inconvenient for your transphobia. https://t.co/GvzLbEe8vB — Dr. Rachel McKinnon (@rachelvmckinnon) October 14, 2018

Well, no, I’m still forced to have an unhealthily low endogenous testosterone value…it’s virtually undetectable it’s so low…way below the average for women. https://t.co/yoSsTF6BI5 — Dr. Rachel McKinnon (@rachelvmckinnon) October 14, 2018

I came 4th in the TT. https://t.co/EF4tcZHimr



So…what’s that about cis women not having a hope at beating me?



Also, I didn’t qualify 1st in the sprint.



Transphobic bigots are not smart, y’all. https://t.co/twEMFpMgeP — Dr. Rachel McKinnon (@rachelvmckinnon) October 14, 2018

She also claimed that the women who placed 2nd and 4th in her competition accepted the rules of the sport and accepted her as an equal competitor.

Funny how all these people are speaking for my competitors. 2nd place is a FRIEND and is extremely supportive of me. So you transphobic bigots are objectifying real humans who aren’t bigoted like you. https://t.co/X3lOBivvNU — Dr. Rachel McKinnon (@rachelvmckinnon) October 14, 2018

I’m friends w/ 2nd and 4th place, but thanks for playing. — Dr. Rachel McKinnon (@rachelvmckinnon) October 14, 2018

Ms. McKinnon has argued that suppressing testosterone in trans women is a human rights violation.

“We cannot have a woman legally recognized as a trans woman in society,” she told USA Today in January, “and not be recognized that way in sports. … Focusing on performance advantage is largely irrelevant because this is a rights issue. We shouldn’t be worried about trans people taking over the Olympics. We should be worried about their fairness and human rights instead.”

The UCI (Union Cycliste Internationale) changed its policy on including transgender athletes last year following a lawsuit by Canadian transgender cyclist Kristen Worley.

Before the final Sunday, Ms. McKinnon set a world record in the quarterfinals, riding 200 meters in 11.92 seconds. Her record didn’t stand for long, however, as it was beaten 10 minutes later, Canadian Cycling Magazine reported.

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