A fencing competition just became the latest face-off in the trans athlete debate

CNN
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The fencing competitors looked virtually identical, clad head-to-toe in protective gear. But Stephanie Turner believed the athlete at the other end of the strip was not like her in one crucial way.

After the usual courtesy of touching foils, the bout ended in seconds without a single lunge, as Turner took a knee and removed her mask.

The refusal by Turner, 31, to compete in a women’s event against a challenger she says is transgender has become the latest incident to fuel a simmering legal, political and cultural debate over trans athletes’ participation in women’s sports.

“I told them that I was refusing to fence because this…