Sharron Davies interviewed Andrew Billen

Sports commentator and Olympic medal swimmer Sharron Davies says that while women’s sport appears to be on the rise progress is still stalling or falling back in many areas.

Davies infamously missed out on an Olympic gold because of blatant doping by East German athletes in the 1980s. She says that allowing biological males to compete against women by self-identifying as trans women threatens the integrity of women’s support and is the latest manifestation of decades of sexism from sports leaders. She looks at stories of sexism and misogyny and failings of the International Olympic Committee that she says go back half a century. She argues that women’s sport is still not getting the attention that it deserves and suggests a way forward for trans inclusion in sport.

Davies was the UK’s top woman swimmer in the 1980s and won an Olympic silver and only lost out on the gold due to blatant doping. She has since worked as a leading BBC sports pundit. Here she talks to The Times feature writer Andrew Billen.