Transgender Runner Wins NCAA Conference's 'Female Athlete of the Week'

The Big Sky Conference has named a transgender athlete as its female cross country runner of the week.

June Eastwood, who formerly competed as Jonathan Eastwood, joined the women’s cross-country team at the University of Montana this fall.

Eastwood became the first transgender athlete to compete on an NCAA Division I women’s running team, and was honored by the Big Sky Conference this week.

“June Eastwood finished second in a field of 204 runners at the Santa Clara Bronco Invitational at Baylands Park in Sunnyvale, Calif. Eastwood clocked a time of 20:18 in the 6k race to help Montana place seventh as a team,” the conference said Tuesday in a news release announcing the award.

Big Sky Conference

✔@BigSkyConf

S/O to @MontanaGrizTF's June Eastwood the #BigSkyXC Female Athlete of the Week

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8:04 PM - Oct 22, 2019

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Eastwood is aware of criticism that surrounds the issue of transgender athletes on women’s teams, but said, “I didn’t want to give up doing what I love just because of who I am.”

To meet NCAA guidelines, Eastwood has been taking testosterone-suppressing drugs for the past year.

However, the issue of runners born as men competing with biological women remains controversial.

n Connecticut, three high school athletes have sued over the state’s policy of letting transgender athletes compete against biological women, saying the policy is unfair to biological women, according to CBS News.

Erik Charter Track!@echartertrack

The problem with the current NCAA rules are that you have to lower T for a year prior to competing as a woman, but there is no testing or ongoing monitoring. Is June Eastwood still lowering T as her times drop to All-American caliber? No one knows.

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9:34 PM - Oct 21, 2019

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فرحFreeLoujain#@_almalika_Fara7

Replying to @BigSkyConf @MontanaGrizTF

June Eastwood is a male! How’s he the female athlete of the week??! Stop this nonsense ffs!!

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11:08 PM - Oct 24, 2019

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According to the running blog Let’s Run, Eastwood’s best times while running on a male team are significantly faster than many long-standing NCAA records held by women.

FairPlayForWomen@fairplaywomen

June Eastwood's personal best at 800m is 1.55.23. Fairly ordinary for Division 1 male runner. But this is ELITE level against women. June is young and has many years to continue to train post transition and to start breaking women's World Records. https://twitter.com/hatzner_emma/status/1187260128795381760 …

Sam Clymer@hatzner_emma

Replying to @fairplaywomen @damekellyholmes

Yep. June is a middle-distance specialist. I'm interested in seeing what June does in the 1500m during the indoor season.

NCAA Division 1 women barely break 2:00 in the 800m outdoors.

Along with 3 of my teammates, I ran under 2:00 my *sophomore year of high school* as a 16 yo

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11:29 AM - Oct 24, 2019

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But Eastwood has the backing of his coach.

Brian Schweyen, head coach of the University of Montana’s track and field program, said he’s fully supportive of Eastwood’s decision to compete on the women’s team.

“There will be mistakes made and lessons learned,” Schweyen said.

“But those lessons will be fantastic.”