The TCS London Marathon had its 2023 run on April 23. Tens of thousands of marathoners participated in this race, including male-identifying-as-a-female Glenique Frank. He ran in the 50- to 55-year-old category with his gender listed as “female.”

Frank finished his marathon at four hours 11 minutes. His decision to race under the incorrect gender greatly improved his ranking. Had he raced as a man, his stats would have looked like this: Overall: 21,617; gender: 15,406; age group: 1,697. Pretty average times for a man. Instead, his stats looked much more impressive. Overall: 21,617; gender: 6,171; age group: 583. Do you see the discrepancy?

He was interviewed after his finish by reporters. Why? His time comparatively wasn’t incredible regardless of category. To be clear, this is not said with any sort of ill intent; it simply is the truth. The only reason was probably because he chose to run with rainbow arm warmers and a trans flag draped across his back. His interview became viral after former Olympian and women’s marathoner Mara Yamauchi commented, “Males in the [female] category is UNFAIR for females.”

Frank addressed those criticizing his decision by saying: “If they want me to give my medal back, I’ll say, ‘OK, fine. No problem.’ … If they really think I’ve stolen the place [of a female runner], I don’t mind giving the medal back because I’ll run again next year for charity. But I don’t want to apologize because I didn’t do anything wrong. … I didn’t compete as an elite, so I didn’t steal any money.”

There is a lot wrong that needs unpacking. Let’s start with the pure ego boost. From a purely egotistical standpoint, Frank’s finish looks much better when judged against women rather than against his biological peers, proving once again that there is an essential biological difference in sporting competitions between men and women. Frank also believes that he did nothing wrong because he has low testosterone due to hormone replacement therapy. HRT does not magically change you into a woman or take away the bone structure/muscle development that is unique to being a man. The biological advantage is still there.

Then there are the 14,000 women whom he knocked down in the rankings due to his dishonest category selection. Many of these women run for clubs or are training for other competitions, and their placement matters. He may have actually messed with the livelihoods and potential earnings of some of the runners he displaced.

The biggest part of this whole debate is that by putting “woman” as his gender, he lied. And he knows it’s a lie. He even admitted that he’ll never have a womb and that he is not a woman. But he did it anyway. He is probably not the only one either. This is a lie that is now culturally acceptable and has varying consequences. This one is relatively small compared to a “transgender woman” (man) who is a murderous rapist that get transferred to a women’s prison. But it’s still a lie, and a selfish one at that, because it affects everyone around you.

The only seemingly redemptive part of this is Frank’s willingness to give back his medal. It is definitely a new move. We doubt Lia (Will) Thomas would be willing to do the same. One interpretation of this action could be that Frank understands he pushed too far and possibly got criticism even from others in the LGBTQ+ community. This is a viable theory, since many in the LGBTQ+ community are getting louder and pushing back against gender theory and transgenderism in particular. One group, Gays Against Groomers, is growing. It is particularly pushing back against the targeting of children for ideological indoctrination, sexualization, and medical “intervention.”

The other interpretation, which this author tends to lean toward, is that this is a feeble attempt at placation. Frank still believes he did nothing wrong. If he is operating under the transgenderism worldview, one that encourages the delusion that your inner person and physical body don’t match, then he would be a woman. After all, “male” and “female” are made-up social constructs according to this ideology.

Frank won’t apologize for his lie, but he has already said he intends to mark “male” or “other” in next year’s London Marathon. His story is comparatively small fish. There are other males who are unapologetically trouncing the competition, taking places and athletic opportunities from women, and stealing prize money with their socially accepted lies.

It needs to be stopped.