One British shot putter has expressed opposition to a World Athletics proposal that would allow transgender women to still compete in international track and field events.

Amelia Strickler, a 29-year-old who was born in the United States but moved with dual-citizenship, said the governing body’s updated policy — which is reportedly undergoing a consultation process before receiving a vote in March — “would leave women at a serious disadvantage.”

“The effects of the hormones and hormone replacements are not going to take away that male puberty advantage and it would leave us women at a serious disadvantage,” Strickler told BBC Radio 5 Live.

Strickler added that the participation of transgender women in female track and field competitions is “happening at the grassroots level,” and she worried about a “ripple effect” that will carry over to “elite athletics sooner than we think.” The BBC noted that Strickler, who finished sixth at the 2022 Commonwealth Games, hasn’t competed against a transgender athlete.

Earlier this month, World Athletics announced its proposal and said that the “preferred option” would be to restrict the eligibility requirements — while still allowing transgender athletes to compete, unlike other sports — by halving the amount of blood testosterone from five nanomoles per liter to 2.5, according to BBC.com. The proposal also would double the threshold from one year to two.

Strickler said that she was surprised with the proposal because it differed from past legislation. FINA, which governs swimming at the world level and was recently renamed World Aquatics, voted to prohibit transgender athletes — that had “gone through any process of male puberty” — from competing in elite races for women, according to BBC. FINA announced an aim to create an “open” category that would be applied to the international competitions.

That prompted outrage from athletes such as diver Tom Daley, a British diver and 2020 Summer Olympics gold medalist who, according to BBC.com, said that “anyone that’s told that they can’t compete or can’t do something they love just because of who they are, it’s not on.”

“I was quite shocked [World Athletics] were going to allow it to continue, even if they are making the rules more strict,” Strickler said. “It is just something that me, my peers and my colleagues — we all work hard day in, day out — we don’t want to see this happen. I hope people will just see an open category is still fair and inclusive, but we do have to protect female sport and we have to make sure women are not at such a disadvantage.”