Riley Gaines urges female athletes to boycott competing against trans girls: 'Don’t run ... don’t swim'

Former NCAA swimmer Riley Gaines says the future of women's sports relies on girls refusing to compete against transgender athletes, sacrificing their title.

NASHVILLE – Athletes must refuse to compete against transgender girls to ensure sports go back to being fair and reserved for biological females, former NCAA swimmer Riley Gaines told Fox News. 

"We have to have girls who, when the whistle blows, they don't run, they don't swim. They stand up on the block and they don't go," said Gaines, who swam for the University of Kentucky.

"It's unfortunate, of course, to ask women to make that sacrifice because these are their sports, they should be entitled to playing," she added. "They shouldn't have to give up anything to get changes."

Since tying for fifth with transgender University of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas in the 200-meter NCAA championship last year, Gaines has advocated that women's sports must be reserved for biological females. But more athletes will be robbed of their titles before enough people stand up and demand change, Gaines said.

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"I think people are really beginning to get fed up with this," Gaines said. "I think initially, maybe two years ago, maybe we thought we could coexist and that we could allow trans women into our spaces because we could be inclusive."

"But now we're seeing, of course, that doesn't work," she added. 

In the 2022 NCAA championship, Thomas swam in three final heat races and won the 500-yard freestyle. CeCé Telfer was the first transgender athlete to win an NCAA title, taking gold in the 2019 Division II Track and Field 400-meter hurdle. And on Sunday, American Austin Killips became the first transgender cyclist to win an official