The ‘first openly transgender athlete’ will compete in the 2020 US Olympic marathon trials.

28-year-old Megan Youngren, a biologically male runner, will join the competition on February 29.

According to Sports Illustrated Magazine, Youngren said: “I’m open to talking about it to people because that’s the only way you make progress on stuff like this.”

It was in 2011 when Youngren started taking hormones. After a year, she came out as trans and finalized her transition paperwork in 2019, according to the magazine.

The athlete insisted that her impressive marathon times in the women’s division are not easy as she’s trans.

“People will try to put it down by saying, ‘That’s too easy because you’re trans,’” Youngren expressed.

“But what about the 500 other women who will qualify? There’s probably someone with the exact same story. I trained hard. I got lucky. I dodged injuries. I raced a lot, and it worked out for me. That’s the story for a lot of other people, too.”

To qualify in women’s Olympic events, athletes must have their testosterone level below 10 namomoles per liter for at least one year before the competition. However, the rules don’t account for other general physical advantages male bodies have over female bodies.

In addition, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) is “planning to implement stricter guidelines that could lower the testosterone levels in serum to 5 nanomoles per liter.”

Youngren also said: “I have done everything by the book, and I can show that.”

Earlier this month, biologically male athletes competing in female competitions at a high school triggered a lawsuit. According to the Daily Wire, three high school girls and their parents filed suit against the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference, which allowed biologically male athletes to join the competition.

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