Runners come in all shapes and sizes, but not everyone can compete at the elite level. To satisfy their itch for speed, they have other recourses in the form of public marathons. One such race is the Parkrun, which is a 5km free-for-all race. However, before the starting gun could echo for the Saturday morning Parkrun, a former British Olympian sent shockwaves through the community with a startling revelation, raising questions about the event’s impact on female participants at all levels.

Mara Yamauchi is a long-distance track and road running athlete from Great Britain and has competed in the 2008 Olympic finals. She holds the third fastest time in the country’s marathon history. Therefore, when Yamauchi blew the bugle on a supposedly unfair entry rule in this year’s Parkrun, it immediately grabbed everyone’s attention.

Former Olympian Mara Yamauchi’s take on Parkrun entry rules

The Olympic finalist has taken issue with Parkrun’s gender screening policy. According to her statements on Mail Online, the Parkrun authorities are sending “an appalling message” to all female participants by allowing transgender athletes to compete as women. The runners are free to self-classify their gender before Saturday’s race. Yesterday, Yamauchi appeared before the public on BBC Radio 4’s World at One program and said, “’My view is that at amateur level, grassroots, beginner level, females – women and girls – must have fairness…That will be very discouraging, demotivating and unfair for them. Some will leave sport altogether and we won’t have any elite female athletes in future”.

Parkrun authorities tried to dismiss her allegations by suggesting that the race is more of an “organized exercise”. Mara Yamauchi was not satisfied with Parkrun’s explanations and clapped back, saying, “Parkrun can say it’s not a race, but they have a measured course, a start and finish line, categories, records, age grade scores, etc”. Her assessment became even more tantalizing when Sian Longthorpe, a transgender athlete’s record-breaking marathon time, came to light. The previous record holder was Deborah Roberts, which gave Mara Yamauchi and other fellow Olympians to solidify their stance on the matter.

Female Olympians setting the pace

Olympians Sharron Davies and Martina Navratilova joined Mara Yamauchi in her objurgation of Parkrun. They suggested a revocation of Parkrun’s government funding. The race organizers are still adamant about upholding their inclusive policies, while the tensions continue to mount. Notwithstanding, their decision on the transgender issue has garnered a lot of criticism from the female athletic community.

Read More: “We Are Being Marginalised”: Banned Transgender Athlete Devastated As Olympic Dreams Shattered By World Athletics

The pushback has resulted in the extirpation of inclusive policies in the British swimming and cycling domains. Swim England observed the backlash from the female swimming community following the Lia Thomas controversy and promptly adjusted their policies. Now that the Olympians are asking for a “robust s*x-at-birth policy” in sports, the situation looks to become more dire in the future.

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