by WorldTribune Staff, August 11, 2026 Non-AI Real World News
Having dominated the women’s cycling events he entered, a Canadian man changed his female name and entered women’s golf competitions. And he’s dominating on the links as well.
Veronica Ivy
As Rachel McKinnon, the biological male won women’s world cycling championship masters’ titles in 2018 and 2019.
The man than changed his name to Veronica Ivy and in June of this year won both the women’s British Columbia Mid-Amateur and Mid-Master championships.
“I swear, golf has to be the hardest sport out there,” Ivy wrote on social media after winning the BC Mid-Am women’s title. “Cycling was so simple by comparison. Cycling is maybe 5 minutes of peak stress, but golf is just 5 hours of non-stop stress, for days on end.”
Ivy has been dominant off the tee. He often smacks drives of more than 280 yards.
The average driving distance on the LPGA Tour is approximately 256 to 260 yards in total distance.
By comparison, the average drive on the PGA Tour is 303 total yards. The longest hitters on tour regularly average over 325 to 330 yards. Even the shortest hitters on the PGA Tour average around 281 yards off the tee.
So, why did McKinnon/Ivy transition from women’s cycling to women’s golf?
In 2023, competitive cycling’s international governing body, the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), officially banned male-born athletes from competing in the women’s category.
At the time, UCI released a lengthy statement updating its policy, which set out to bar any transgender woman cyclist from competing in women’s events if they transitioned after going through male puberty.
“The meeting of the UCI Management Committee was held following a seminar on the conditions for the participation of transgender athletes in women’s cycling events, organized by the UCI on 21 June, at which the various stakeholders – transgender and cisgender athletes, experts from the scientific, legal and human rights fields, and sporting institutions – were able to present their respective positions,” the statement read.
“From now on, female transgender athletes who have transitioned after (male) puberty will be prohibited from participating in women’s events on the UCI International Calendar – in all categories – in the various disciplines.”
Very few trans people do so before puberty.
The chances of Ivy making it to the LPGA Tour are exactly zero.
The LPGA Tour, Epson Tour, and Ladies European Tour require any trans players to prove they transitioned before age 12 or before the first stage of puberty, while also maintaining specified testosterone limits. McKinnon/Ivy did not transitions until he was in his 20s.
Golf Canada and British Columbia Golf maintain what they call an “inclusive” gender identity policy. Their regulations allow athletes to enter competitions based on the gender category with which they self-identify, without requiring gender disclosure, documentation, or specific hormone thresholds.
