Transgender swimmer Melody Wiseheart, 50, who races against women and girls. In the past she was Nicholas Cepeda. (Source: X/I Meme Therefore I Am)
BARRIE – During a swimming race in the Canadian province of Ontario, a situation occurred that probably no parent of the girl competitors expected. A transgender woman also took part among the girls at the start. It immediately caused outrage. The other racers were even afraid of her.
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At the swimming race held in the Canadian province of Ontario in the city of Barrie, transgender competitor Melody Wiseheart (50) was one of the competitors. The Trojan Cup races were held from the first to the third of December. Melody shared a locker room with her girl rivals. It informed about it Toronto Sun. However, they were afraid of her and were ashamed to change clothes in front of her. Melody competed in the age category of older female racers from 16 years and older. However, sometimes she used to race against 13-year-old girls.
Professor of psychology
Melody works as a professor at the University of York in the field of psychology. This was not her first women’s swimming race. For example, in East Bayfield, she finished second in her category in the 1,500 m race. However, several parents of their daughters came forward in Barrie. One of them even commented as follows: “The girls were scared and we in the stands were outraged. We built a makeshift tent out of towels for our daughters. We didn’t want them to just change in front of Wiseheart. It made them uncomfortable.”
The organizers are on her side
Swimming Canada and Swim Ontario, which run similar events in the region, have made it clear that Melody Wiseheart can compete in the women’s events. “Swimming organizations are of the opinion that everyone can swim and they don’t want to restrict anyone. People of all shapes, genders, weights, beliefs or origins should be able to swim according to their own choice (which also includes choosing a category according to gender). We expect that all our registered sportsmen and women will treat each other with respect and will protect our sports environment from abuse and harassment.” stated in the statement.
Melody Wiseheart, formerly Nicholas Cepeda, is scheduled to compete against girls starting in 2019. She was allowed to swim with a different gender, possibly because of the science she studies. It focuses on aging and the behavior of children and youth. The story is just the latest source of outrage for young female athletes and their parents, who say it’s not fair for their daughters to have to compete against trans athletes.
2023-12-16 21:00:00
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