Trans athlete CeCé Telfer vows to take women’s medals, records during indoor track season

The first biological male to win an NCAA women’s track and field championship has announced his return to the sport with a bold declaration to go after more women’s medals and records.

In a recent interview about his new book, Make It Count, CeCé Telfer, who stands 6 feet 2 inches and identifies as a woman, expressed his determination to excel in the upcoming season.

“I look forward to indoor track, because 2024 indoors is going to be epic,” Telfer told Them, an LGBT publication. “My dreams were taken away from me once again. So, I plan on going back to New England, hitting up all the indoor competitions, and taking all the names, all the records, and everything. 

“That doesn’t look like first all the time, that doesn’t look like second place, that doesn’t look like podium all the time, but the track meets that count will count. That’s what’s burning this fire in my heart and in my body. So, it’s keeping me going to know that I can go to indoor competitions and still be the girl to talk about, period.” 

That proclamation drew sharp criticisms from some, including Riley Gaines, a former collegiate swimmer for the University of Kentucky and outspoken advocate for integrity in women’s sports.  

“Entitlement? Absolutely.” Gaines posted on X. “Detached from reality? 100%. Narcissism? Reeking of it.”  

Telfer, a Franklin Pierce University alum, competed in the men’s category until 2017. In 2019, Telfer made history as the first biological male to win a women’s NCAA championship title. 

During the NCAA 2019 championships, Telfer placed first in the 400-meter hurdles with a personal record of 57.53 seconds, more than 6 seconds slower than first place in the men’s category (51.39). 

Telfer’s defiant determination is a response to a decision by World Athletics, the governing body of track and field, to ban transgender athletes from competing in women’s world-ranking competitions. 

“It was the right decision then, it’s the right decision now,” World Athletics President Sebastian Coe told CNN Sports. “These regulations are here to stay, and if we have to defend them, we will, and we’ll defend them on the basis that it is absolutely vital that we protect, we defend, we preserve the female category.”  

The ruling has ended Telfer’s chances of competing in the upcoming Olympic trials, leading Telfer to target meets not sanctioned by the organization.