Transgender surfer trounces female competitors in surfing contest in Australia

Transgender surfer Sasha Jane Lowerson, a biological male, recently defeated female competitors at the West Coast Suspensions Longboard and Logger State Championships in Australia.

Lowerson took first place in the Open Women's Longboard and Open Women's Logger divisions, according to Surfing WA.

The transgender surfer trounced the competition, scoring 14.70 in the Open Women's Longboard, compared to the second-place finisher's score of just 10.63 — likewise, Lowerson's 13.97 in the Open Women's Logger dwarfed the runner up's 11.37.

"To be the first transgender woman competing in surfing hasn’t been an easy ride emotionally but the amount of support I’ve been showed has been phenomenal and I’m so grateful to be involved, welcomed and embraced within the longboard community in Australia," Lowerson said, according to Surfing WA.

"It was an amazing experience, with great waves. I surfed an amazing, perfect point break with three other women," Lowerson said, according to the Inertia.

In the past, Lowerson had competed in men's surfing as Ryan Egan. Lowerson began "a medical transition" at the beginning of 2021, the surfer said on a podcast.

"Well, it wasn’t the first event I’ve competed in as a female," Lowerson said, according to the Inertia. "I competed in the Noosa Festival of Surfing in March. So that was technically the first time a trans athlete had ever competed in surfing. And there was no hoo haa then, because there was nothing to talk about. I came 10th. I was surfing against some of the best longboard women in the world, and they schooled me.

"With this event, though, I was a bigger fish in a smaller pond, and there are going to be naysayers as soon as you win one. Unfortunately, when a trans athlete is successful a lot of people want to jump up and down. But there are also a lot of people that want to celebrate it, which is a positive thing," Lowerson said.

Taylor Silverman, a female skateboarder, recently spoke out about losing to a transgender competitor.

Lia Thomas, a biological male who swam for the University of Pennsylvania's women's team, previously made headlines while winning various competitions against female competitors.

"The very simple answer is that I’m not a man," Thomas told Sports Illustrated. "I'm a woman, so I belong on the women’s team. Trans people deserve that same respect every other athlete gets."