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In 2018, 50.6% of registered participants in mass participation running events were women. However, gender disparities remained in that, compared to men, women stopped racing at a younger age and raced shorter distances. These differences may exist due to gendered discourses of pregnancy and parenting and a lack of accommodation for self-identifying women, transgender and non-binary (SWTNB) pregnant and parenting athletes (PPA) in community and elite sport. Our purpose for engaging in this critical commentary is to analyse World Athletics’ road race policies for discourses concerning SWTNB PPAs’ participation. Specifically, we used intersectionality-based policy analysis to examine how the needs of SWTNB PPAs are considered (or not) when registering for and participating in an internationally ranked road race. We analysed 52 World Athletics Gold and Platinum Label races. Three principal discourses were reproduced through various policies, which reinforced gendered, patriarchal, classist, and ableist discourses regarding SWTNB PPA’s participation: i) race registration accommodations for PPAs are already in place, ii) welcome runners are mentioned in policies, and iii) pregnancy and parenting policies are ‘inclusive’. By examining these discourses, we highlight how race directors and policymakers can not only create intersectional accommodations for SWTNB PPAs but also support and protect their rights to participate.
Ritondo et al. (Sun,) studied this question.