‘Train hard and prove these losers wrong!’ – Women’s sports and the 2024 Olympics

Did the 2024 Olympics turn into another battle in the war on women’s sports, a case of trans panic, or both? For the right wing in the U.S., the answer was all of the above.

Instead of celebrating the women’s team’s seven rugby bronze (first U.S. rugby medal since 1924), for example, conservative pundits and MAGA politicians (including GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump) spent their time the last couple of weeks speculating about whether certain players are “really women or not.”

The same story played out when it came to athletes like Imane Khelif of Algeria (boxing), Lin Yu-Ting of Taiwan (boxing), and others accused of being “too good to be women” or are secretly men.

People’s World reporter Taryn Fivek sat down with rugby player and sports commentator Dom Shannon to discuss their impressions on women, trans, and non-binary athletes and their role in advancing democracy and equality. Watch the conversation below.

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CONTRIBUTOR

Taryn Fivek

Taryn Fivek is a reporter for People's World in New York.