Sharron Davies has commended Donald Trump after he signed an executive order to ban trans athletes from participating in women’s sporting events, while pleading with Keir Starmer to do the same in the UK.
The former competitive swimmer who represented Great Britain in the Olympics took to X/Twitter to share her views on the matter, saying the decision was ‘in the USA not the UK unfortunately’.
In a bid of desperation for the UK to follow in the US president’s footsteps, Davies wrote: ‘Please Keir Starmer can you now do as you said you would & protect all female athletes here in the Uk in sport & stop males from stealing their places, awards & increasing their risk of injury? Sex in sport really matters…’
It comes after Trump signed the controversial new executive order barring transgender women and girls from competing in female sports, fulfilling a campaign promise to ‘keep men out of women’s sports’.
Davies has been notably vocal on the issue in the past, last year claiming that ‘mediocre male athletes are stealing women’s medals’.
In her foreword to a report by Policy Exchange on the toll trans ideology is taking on women’s sport, Davies last year urged policymakers in the UK to bar biological males from female amateur competitions.
Davies said: ‘There is a sense within sports policy that while we should protect the female category within elite sports, women and girls participating and competing at amateur levels should budge over.
‘They must ‘be kind’ and ‘inclusive’ while having to pretend that it is not grossly unfair, demotivating and possibly unsafe to accommodate biological males within their races, teams and sports days’.
Sharron Davies has begged Keir Starmer to follow in Donald Trump’s footsteps after he signed a bill that will see trans athletes banned from women’s sporting events
US President Donald Trump (C), surrounded by young female athletes, signs an executive order banning transgender athletes from women’s sports, in the East Room of the White House in Washington
Davies wrote to the British PM: ‘Please Kier Starmer can you now do as you said you would & protect all female athletes here in the Uk in sport & stop males from stealing their places, awards & increasing their risk of injury?’
She argued: ‘For too long, those responsible for setting policy within sports have prioritised transgender inclusion over the rights of female athletes.’
The Olympic medallist went on to warn that ‘we risk alienating a generation of future female athletes if we pretend that biology does not matter within sport’.
But Davies is not the first athlete or sporting personality to come forward and raise concerns over the UK’s position on the matter.
Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer last year wrote to sporting bodies, including the Football Association, and said they have a ‘duty’ to taken an ‘unambiguous position’ on whether transgender athletes can compete.
Last month, England Hockey announced it will ban transgender women from competing in the female category from the start of next season.
As part of its new transgender and non-binary participation policy, the governing body has established two categories of competitions – female and open – with the latter ‘open to all’, including transgender and non-binary players.
‘Based on the current available evidence – and that hockey requires the physical capabilities of strength, endurance, speed and acceleration as key factors for success – hockey is considered a gender-affected sport,’ England Hockey said.
‘Based on this evidence, we have determined that the Trans and Non-Binary Participation Policy should restrict trans participation in order to secure fair competition. We are committed to supporting all affected players to ensure they find the right path for them to continue to participate in hockey.’
The new policy will come into effect from September 1 this year.
It comes after UK Athletics two years ago banned transgender women from competing in the female category in its competitions and events within the United Kingdom.
World Athletics also announced a ban at international level.
Olympic medalist Sharron Davies pictured in the Gladiators game show – produced by LWT for ITV from 10 October 1992 to 1 January 2000
UKA said its position is that athletics should ‘remain an inclusive sport’ but it is ‘fair’ that athletes who have gone through male puberty should be excluded from the female category.
Lord Sebastian Coe revealed he was exploring a complete ban on transgender women competing in women’s events at the Olympics if he wins the election to become the most powerful person in sport.
He is one of seven candidates to become president of the International Olympic Comittee (IOC) next month and part of his manifesto vows to introduce ‘science-based policies that safeguard the female category’.
Lord Coe told Sky News in December: ‘We’ve taken the lead at World Athletics, as you know, and I think for me the principle is very clear.
‘But if you have a vacuum around this policy position, then you end up with some of the things that we witnessed in Paris.’
The former double Olympic champion was referring to Imane Khelif, who won a women’s boxing gold medal after contentious claims around a failed gender eligibility test.
In the US, Trump’s latest order, titled ‘Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports,’ was signed on National Girls and Women in Sports Day and will penalise schools and athletic associations that allow transgender athletes to participate in female categories.
Schools found in violation could lose federal funding under the directive.
In a post shared by White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt that read: PROMISES MADE, PROMISES KEPT! President Trump signs an Executive Order to BAN men in women’s sports!’ Davies responded while praising the American leader.
‘And it’s so important this is phrased correctly. Trump has correctly banned ‘males’ from a category they never ever belonged in.. women & girls,’ she wrote.
The order, titled ‘Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports,’ was signed on National Girls and Women in Sports Day
‘Biology matters especially in a physical activity like sport, but women & girls deserve spaces away from any & all males’.
Surrounded by female athletes and supporters at the signing, Trump declared: ‘The war on women’s sports is over.’
He framed the move as a necessary step to protect fairness in female athletics, comparing it to his previous efforts to remove what he called ‘woke lunacy’ from the military.
The order goes beyond school sports, with Trump also vowing to block transgender athletes from competing in elite international events hosted in the US.
Referring to the upcoming 2028 Los Angeles Olympics and the 2026 FIFA World Cup, Trump stated: ‘My administration will not stand by and watch men beat and batter female athletes.
‘We’re not going to let it happen.’
In a dramatic move, he also announced that his administration would deny visa applications for transgender women who attempt to compete as female athletes in US-based competitions.
‘Just to make sure, I’m directing our secretary of homeland security to block any fraudulent applications by men trying to enter the US as women athletes,’ Trump added.
