Trans athlete defends decision to run in female category at London Marathon after being accused of 'exploiting loophole'
25 April 2023, 20:00
A trans athlete accused of exploiting a loophole by running in the London marathon's women's race has defended her decision to take part.
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Glenique Frank, 54, from Northamptonshire, insisted she had not cheated by entering the race but apologised for entering in the female category.
She crossed the line after four hours, 11 minutes and 28 seconds - coming in 6,160th place out of 20,123 competitors.
The personal trainer said she was "almost in tears" over the support she received from women during the 26.2-mile run.
However, she also faced criticism from some - including Olympian Mara Yamauchi - who said Ms Frank should not have been allowed to benefit from a "loophole".
She said it was "wrong and unfair" for Ms Frank to compete in the female category, suggesting other female runners had "suffered a worse finish position" as a result.
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But Ms Frank was quick to defend her decision to run in the marathon, saying she has "served my country because of all the money I've raised" for charity Whizz-Kidz.
"How can they say that I've cheated, who have I cheated? I did it in four hours and 11 minutes," she told MailOnline.
"I'm going to apologise, I should have entered under the male category but I wasn't taking any advantage over another female.
"I've just entered as a general public [participant] and I'm raising money for charity."
She also said she ran in the Tokyo and New York marathons as Glen Frank "because my passport is male and I haven't had surgery".
"I apologise for entering under the female category because I haven't had surgery yet," she continued.
"I wasn't intending to mislead the public, but I apologise for entering under the female category.
"At the end of the day, I'm not winning the race or prize money so I haven't cheated any other athletes out of their prize."
Ms Frank added that she would not run another race as a female until she had surgery.
"When Glen becomes Glenique and gets female genitalia she will enter as a female," she said.
"Until then I will not enter again [as female] in competitive races where there is prize money involved."
It comes after UK Athletics announced at the end of March that it would ban transgender athletes at its licensed events, saying it was "fair for athletes who have gone through male puberty to be excluded from the female category in athletics".
However, those who had entered into a category that was not their biological sex were still permitted to compete.
The event was Ms Frank's 17th consecutive London marathon and she has set out to complete all six major world marathons including Chicago, Tokyo and Berlin.
