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Sharron Davies vs. transgender people

Sharron Davies is a British former swimmer and sex segregationsist. Davies is a prominent opponent of transgender athletes competing in sex-segregated competitive sport.

Davies has appeared at and been involved with a number of anti-trans organizations, including Women’s Sports Union, FiLiA, Women’s Rights Network, Women’s Sports Policy Working Group, Save Women’s Sports (US), Independent Council on Women’s Sports, and Foundation Against Intolerance & Racism.

Background

Sharron Elizabeth Davies was born on November 1, 1962 in Plymouth, Devon, and grew up in Plymouth and Plymstock.

Davies began swimming competitively in grade school and was named to the British national team at age 11. Davies competed in the 1976 and 1980 Summer Olympics and set a number of British records before retiring for

In 1993, Davies was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire for services to swimming. In 2025, the Conservative Party nominated Davies for peerage, and Davies was named Baroness Davies of Devonport, of Bradford-on-Avon in the County of Wiltshire.

Davies has been active in conservative politics, supporting laws against sleeping outside and revoking access to abortion medication by mail.

Anti-trans activism

Starting in around 2019, Davies became increasingly vocal in opposition to trans women competing in women’s sports. During Davies’ swimming career, several East German swimmers who beat Davies in races later acknowledged using performance-enhancing drugs like testosterone.

Davies has also been critical of drag performances, likening them to blackface.

References

Rumsby, Ben (April 23, 2026). Sharron Davies threatens Parkrun with legal action over transgender policy. The Telegraph https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/2026/04/23/sharron-davies-threatens-parkrun-with-legal-action-trans/

Pearce, Georgia (March 27, 2026). Sharron Davies opens up on facing ‘threats’ and abuse after campaigning for women’s sports: ’10 years of my career have disappeared.’ GBNews https://www.gbnews.com/sport/olympics-trans-ban-sharron-davies-details-threats-abuse-campaigning-womens-sports

Hansford, Amelia (March 17, 2026). Former EHRC chair signs amendments targeting abortion rights. PinkNews https://www.thepinknews.com/2026/03/17/ehrc-chair-abortion-rights/

Gantzer, Olivia (November 24, 2025). ITV sparks trans debate as Olympian Sharron Davies argues ‘biology matters!’ on Good Morning Britain”. GBNews https://www.gbnews.com/celebrity/itv-trans-debate-sharron-davies-biology-good-morning-britain

Brown, Oliver (Movember 18, 2025). Sharron Davies: “I’ve never been anti-trans in my life. I’m just pro-female.” The Telegraph https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/11/18/sharron-davies-interview-trans-pro-female/

Wright, Oliver (August 13, 2025). Sharron Davies among three nominated as Conservative peers. The Times https://www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/article/sharron-davies-simon-heffer-kemi-badenoch-conservative-nominations-lords-ddpr3905s

Martin, Daniel (July 14, 2025). Women’s sports ‘must ban trans players or face legal action’: Sharron Davies accuses sporting bodies of ‘choosing men’s feelings over women’s reality.’ The Telegraph https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2025/07/14/womens-sports-legal-action-ban-transgender-players/

Eve, Carl (June 20, 2025). Olympian Sharron Davies ‘suspended’ as charity patron after Tweet. Plymouth Live https://www.plymouthherald.co.uk/news/plymouth-news/olympian-sharron-davies-suspended-homeless-10279468

Wratten, Marcus (April 30, 2025). Sharron Davies slams BBC for covering death of Drag Race star Jiggly Caliente: ‘Endless drag stories.’ PinkNews https://www.thepinknews.com/2025/04/29/sharron-davies-bbc-drag-race-jiggly-caliente/

Crane, Emily (April 1, 2024). Ex-British Olympian Sharron Davies slams trans runner Cece Telfer’s participation in women’s race: ‘Simply cheating.’ New York Post https://nypost.com/2024/04/01/british-former-olympian-sharron-davies-slams-trans-runner-cece-telfers-participation-in-womens-race-simply-cheating/

Somerville, Ewan (September 23, 2023). MPs who believe women can have a penis will be named and shamed ahead of general election. The Telegraph https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/09/23/mps-believe-women-penis-named-trans-election-sharron-davies/

Reid, Melanie (June 17, 2023). Unfair Play: The Battle for Women’s Sport by Sharron Davies review – women are being cheated of medals. The Times https://www.thetimes.com/culture/books/article/unfair-play-the-battle-for-womens-sport-by-sharron-davies-review-btslr58xt

Coen, Susie; Corless, Blathnaid (April 7, 2023). Sharron Davies calls for Nike boycott after trans influencer promoted its sports bra. The Telegraph https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/04/07/sharron-davies-dylan-mulvaney-nike-transgender-bra-boycott/

Jones, Sarah (March 3, 2019). Former Olympian says transgender athletes should not compete in women’s sport. The Independent https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/sharron-davies-transgender-women-banned-sport-a8805186.html

Petter, Olivia (December 21, 2019). Former Olympian criticised for comparing drag shows to blackface. The Independent https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/sharron-davies-drag-shows-blackface-olympian-twitter-backlash-a9256186.html

Eden, Richard (September 19, 2009). Olympic swimmer Sharron Davies separates from her third husband. The Telegraph https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/celebritynews/6209753/Olympic-swimmer-Sharron-Davies-separates-from-her-third-husband.html

Selected writing by Davies

Davies, Sharron (March 26, 2026). IOC change protects only elite – what about the rest of us? The Telegraph https://www.telegraph.co.uk/olympics/2026/03/26/ioc-change-protects-only-elite-what-about-rest-of-us/

Davies, Sharron (June 24, 2022).  I Was an Olympic Swimmer, I Want Trans Women Banned From Female Sports. Newsweek https://www.newsweek.com/sharron-davies-i-was-olympic-swimmer-want-trans-women-banned-sport-1718578

Davies, Sharron (June 20, 2022). Sharron Davies: ‘The trans debate is toxic. It’s made my life hell. But female athletes must speak up.’ The Times https://www.thetimes.com/sport/athletics/article/sharron-davies-the-trans-debate-is-toxic-its-made-my-life-hell-but-female-athletes-must-speak-up-xllplkmp3

Davies, Sharron (March 20, 2022). Sharron Davies: Injustice of transgender athletes has echo of the dopers I faced. The Times https://www.thetimes.com/sport/article/sharron-davies-injustice-of-transgender-athletes-has-echo-of-the-dopers-i-faced-x8lzv9hj7

Books

Davies, Sharron, Lord, Craig (2024). Unfair Play: The Battle for Women’s Sport. Swift Press, ISBN 978-1800752825

Davies, Sharron; Thorley, Julia (1995). Pregnant and Fit. Partridge Press, ISBN 978-1852252403

Davies, Sharron (1992). Learn To Swim In A Weekend. Knopf, ISBN 978-0679412762

Davies, Sharron (1984). Against the Tide. HarperCollins, ISBN 978-0002181204

Media

TalkTV with Jeremy Kyle and Sharron Davies (June 13, 2024). Transgender Swimmer Lia Thomas Booted From Olympics After Losing Legal Case. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=arcIhJJd5Jg

TalkTV / Piers Morgan Uncensored with Piers Morgan and Sharron Davies (June 16, 2023). “It’s INFURIATING!” – Swimmer Sharron Davies On Her Fight For Women’s Sport. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GVNse2cRfjs

GBNews with Dan Wootton and Sharron Davies (April 6, 2023). Sharron Davies’ boycotts Nike over Dylan Mulvaney ads: ‘Women are being treated with total disdain.’ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5ifJSVixXs

GBNews with Dan Wootton and Sharron Davies (Jun 27, 2022). Swimming legend Sharron Davies TAKES AIM at Tom Daley for defending trans athlete Lia Thomas! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wuAbHXU-lXk

BBC / Hardtalk with Stephen Sackur and Sharron Davies (May 31, 2019). Sharron Davies on trans women in sport. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-48368630

TalkTV with James Whale, Ash Gould, and Sharron Davies (July 1, 2024). ‘Can’t Wait To See Swimmers In Burqas’ | James Whale BLASTS Olympic Rules And United Nations. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RJXvxv_URf8

Sky News with Sharron Davies (March 4, 2019). Ex-swimmer Sharron Davies on why she opposes transgender athletes in women’s sports. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k1a4H3KJ-fk

Resources

Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org)

Sharron Davies (sharrondavies.com)

Sharron Davies Training (sharrondaviestraining.co.uk)

Women’s Sport Union (womenssportsunion.com)

Olympics (olympics.com)

X/Twitter (x.com)

IMDb (imdb.com)