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The adult transgender skateboarder who recently came under fire after winning a competition against female teens and children has now defended her actions.
Ricci Tres, 29, told the Daily Mail that she is now getting roasted for beating teens and little girls in her recent Red Bull skate win.
"I’m not going to go and be easy on them because they’re kids," Tres said.
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"It’s funny it’s what I am getting beat up over the most, people saying, 'You’re beating little kids, little girls.' I didn’t intend to do that."
"This is the first one I’ve been to that I actually wanted to win … the age thing doesn’t really count.”
At age 29, Tres was the oldest person to compete in the Boardr Open women's division in New York.
Tres won the female contest and took home the prize of $500, beating 13-year-old girl Shiloh Catori who came second with a prize money of $250.
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A total of six skateboarders took part, with four under the age of 17, including a 10-year-old girl named Juri Iikura who finished in fifth place.
Tres' win has caused backlash, and fellow skateboarder Taylor Silverman, who is a woman, took to social media to reveal how she was beaten in multiple competitions by trans women.
She said: "I have been in three different contests with trans women, two of which I placed second. This totalled $5,000 of the prize money meant for female athletes."
Silverman lost to a trans skater named Lilian Gallagher in May, and since then, she has used her social media platforms to campaign for the preservation of women’s athletics by calling for competitions to revert to women competing against other biological women and men competing with biological men.
Silverman wrote on Instagram: "I reached out to Red Bull and was ignored, I am sick of being bullied into silence."
According to the Daily Mail, Tres attempted to qualify for the Olympics by entering in the Women’s Street USA Skateboarding National Championships, but was rejected as her testosterone levels were too high to compete.
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The Navy veteran and parent to three children added there is no comparison between skateboarding and swimming, referencing the controversy over trans swimmer Lia Thomas.
Thomas became the first transgender woman to win a national swimming championship for women.
Following Thomas' win, world swimming governing body FINA banned trans women swimmers from competing against female athletes.
"I don’t think I have a physical advantage," Tres said, as per the Daily Mail.
"Look at me. I’m not buff or anything ... The whole physical aspect of skateboarding isn’t really there. It’s really the skill level."
Rachel Lang