DREAM CUT SHORT

Transgender Runner CeCe Telfer Barred From USA Olympic Trials

She did not meet “conditions established in the World Athletics ‘Eligibility Regulations for Transgender Athletes,’” U.S. Track and Field said.

CeCe Telfer, a transgender hurdler, will be barred from competing in the U.S. Olympic trials after failing to meet eligibility requirements established by World Athletics. “While CeCe Telfer has met the performance qualification standard, she has not met the conditions established in the World Athletics ‘Eligibility Regulations for Transgender Athletes’ and is therefore ineligible to compete,” USA Track and Field said in a statement. In 2019, World Athletics released guidelines requiring female runners’ testosterone levels to be under 5 nonomoles per liter for 12 months prior to some competitions. Telfer was a 2019 Division II national champion in the 400 meter hurdles in 2018 but did not compete the year prior as she transitioned. Telfer moved to the U.S. from Jamaica at age 12 and struggled during the past year as the pandemic left her without a coach. She resorted to sleeping in her car before moving in with her psychologist in New Hampshire. Telfer aims to use her platform to inspire Black LGBT youth, she said. “It’s important for me to do it for my people, whether it be women, Black people, transgender people, LGBTQ people, anybody who is scrutinized and oppressed,” Telfer said.