Transgender competitor beats 13-year-old girl in NYC women’s skateboarding contest

A 29-year-old transgender woman has beat a 13-year-old girl to take home the top prize in a skateboarding contest, sparking outrage online.

A 29-year-old transgender woman beat a 13-year-old girl to take home the top prize in a skateboarding contest in New York City, reigniting the debate over whether new inclusivity pushes create an unfair advantage in women’s sports.

Ricci Tres, from Los Angeles, won the women’s division of the Boardr Open street skateboarding competition and a $US500 prize, with 13-year-old Shiloh Catori, from Florida, coming in second and taking a $US250 prize, the New York Post reports.

Shiloh Catori, 13, from Florida, took second place.

Four of the six finalists were under the age of 17, with the youngest being 10-year-old Juri Iikura, who came in fifth. Chrissy Brown, age 28, was also in the competition with Tres the oldest contestant at age 29.

Tres is 838 in the Boardr Global Rankings, compared to Catori’s 133 ranking.

Tres’ victory sparked an outrage on social media among critics, who blasted Boardr Open for allowing a much older competitor assigned male at birth to face off against biological females – many of them more than half her age.

Ricci Tres, 29, a transgender skateboarder, won a women’s competition.

Skateboarder Taylor Silverman led the chorus of discontent, writing in an Instagram post: “Male wins women’s finals and money at Boardr Open NYC presented by DC today. My story is not unique in skateboarding.”

Silverman, who has been skateboarding for 11 years, previously complained on social media that she had lost to transgender rivals twice, including at the Redbull Cornerstone competition in May, when she missed out on $US5000 in prize money by coming in second.

Four of the six finalists in the Boardr Open were under 17.

“I deserved to place first, be acknowledged for my win, and get paid,” she wrote. “I reached out to Redbull and was ignored. I am sick of being bullied into silence.”

Silverman’s post from May 17 drew a mixed response, with some users fully supporting her stance, while others accused her of being a sore loser, with one commenter writing: “lol or you could just … be better at skating & actually win the already fair contest?”

Christina Pushaw, a spokeswoman for Florida governor Ron DeSantis, questioned the age disparity among the contestants.

Female skateboarder Taylor Silverman slammed the decision.

“Why are 28-29 year olds competing against children?” she wondered in a tweet.

The controversy sparked by the skateboarding contest comes amid a broader national conversation about whether male-to-female transgender athletes have an unfair competitive edge over biological females.

The issue came to a head in March, when University of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas became the first transgender women to win the NCAA’s Division I swimming championship.

Last week, the swimming’s world governing body, FINA, banned most transgender female athletes from competing in all major events, including the Olympic Games.

This article originally appeared on New York Post and was reproduced with permission

Originally published as Transgender competitor beats 13-year-old girl in NYC women’s skateboarding contest