Former pro cyclist Leah Goldstein, who lives in Vernon, B.C, will no longer be the keynote speaker at an International Women’s Day event in Peterborough, On., in March, apparently because of her faith. In September, she was offered the role and she accepted. However, in January, she was told she was being removed from the role.
Born in Canada, moved to Israel as a teenager
Goldstein, 54, was born in Canada to Israeli parents. At 17, she moved to Israel, where she spent several years, and served her mandatory military service. In 1989, she was world bantamweight kickboxing champion. After an injury, she began cycling, riding for teams such as the Canadian squad, Symmetrics Pro Cycling. After her career in road cycling, she then began ultra-endurance cycling. In 2011, Goldstein took the victory in the women’s solo category of the Race Across America. Notably, she attained second place in the women’s group and fifth overall in 2019. However, it was in 2021 that she etched her name in history by winning the overall solo division, beating not just all the women, but men too.
On Thursday, after the decision began to circulate on social media the organization put out a formal statement saying that she would no longer be involved with the event, amid the Israel/Gaza war.
“Our focus at INSPIRE has been and will always be to create safe spaces to honor, share, and celebrate the remarkable stories of women and non-binary individuals,” the statement read.“In recognition of the current situation and the sensitivity of the conflict in the Middle East, the Board of INSPIRE will be changing our keynote speaker.”
Statement about the decision
Upon hearing the news that she would be removed as keynote speaker, she put out a statement of her own about her disappointment with the decision.
“It has taken me a while to wrap my head around your decision to remove me as INSPIRE’s International Women’s Day ‘Inspire Inclusion’ keynote speaker. I was hurt. I was angry. But most of all I was heartbroken,” she said. “I’ve been a speaker for nearly 10 years and have told my story in front of real estate agents, business managers, garbage collectors, CEOs, motorbike dealers, government agencies and many diverse women’s groups. Not once has someone (to my face, to the organizers, nor anonymously) ever claimed to have been offended by my presentation. Not once.”
Speeches positive, never poltiical
During her speeches as a motivational speaker,…
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