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Glenique Frank: Trans runner who ran NYC marathon as a man boasts of 'girl power' after they beat over 14K women in London race

'I ticked female because I see myself as female. But I've known since I was five that I was in the wrong body,' Glenique Frank said

LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM: Two-time Olympian Mara Yamauchi reacted furiously after transgender runner Glenique Frank boasted about utilizing "girl power" to complete the significant UK race on Sunday, April 23. Yamauchi questioned the rules for allowing a transgender runner to defeat over 14,000 women in the female section of the London Marathon.

Yamauchi noted that UK Athletics applied World Athletics' regulations concerning the exclusion of transgender women from elite female competitions at the end of March to make it "fair for athletes who have gone through male puberty to be excluded from the female category in athletics," according to New York Post. However, it did permit those who had previously registered to race to continue competing in divisions that did not correspond to their biological sex. Yamauchi said, "This male competed under UK Athletics’ transitional arrangements, but it is still wrong and unfair," according to Telegraph Sport.

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Who is Glenique Frank?

Runner Frank gained notoriety after slowing down to tell the BBC how happy she was to have completed her seventeenth marathon. She flexed her biceps over armbands and said, "Girl power!" The runner closed the mid-race conversation by gushing about how her "beautiful son" is having a child. She stated, "So I'm going to be a gran - Granny G!"

'Males in the [female] category is UNFAIR for females'

In a tweet, Yamauchi, who finished sixth in the marathon at the Beijing Summer Olympics in 2008, stated, "Males in the [female] category is UNFAIR for females," accompanied with a footage of the mid-race interview with the runner wearing a sports bra and gushing about soon becoming "a gran."

Yamauchi, who claimed that even while she was "ranked second in the world" as a woman, "at least 1300 men ran faster than me," argued that "nearly 14,000 actual females suffered a worse finish position [because] of" Frank.

Cathy Devine, a former lecturer in sport and physical activity at the University of Cumbria, asserted that the London Marathon served the purpose of "enabling." She wrote, "Zero categories that exclude male performance advantage. Goddess forbid that female runners should have their own category celebrating what women runners can do."

'I feel sad that I've upset Mara, because I respect her'

Personal trainer Frank said, "I feel sad that I've upset Mara, because I respect her," according to New York Post. Frank claimed that she was shocked by what transpired as she wasn't an elite runner competing for money or a place on the podium. Instead, she used the races to raise the equivalent of $37,000 for charity.

Frank said, "I did [the race in] four hours 11 minutes. There’s lots of women that beat me." However, she stated that moving forward she will go under "other" or "male," simply to keep everyone happy. "And I'll still do it in four hours and I won't steal anybody's money," she said.

How did Glenique Frank compete in a NYC race as a man?

Frank claims that she had previously competed in the male division of marathons, including the one in New York in November, because she was compelled to join using the name and gender that are given on her passport. She still ran around the Big Apple like a city visitor, sporting a long pink wig and a bright red bra.

The same passport rules did not apply for the London Marathon, however, as Frank is a British citizen and resides in the UK. Frank, who came out three years ago as Glenique—a combination of Glen and "unique"—said, "I ticked female because I see myself as female. But I've known since I was five that I was in the wrong body," accordng to New York Post.