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Lauren Jeska (born 5 September 1974) is a British former fell running from Lancaster. Jeska, a trans woman, was convicted of the attempted murder of Ralph Knibbs, HR manager for UK Athletics, after Knibbs investigated Jeska's eligibility to compete as a woman.
Jeska went to Lancaster Royal Grammar School, running on the cross-country team. She went on to Oxford University, where she studied physics, gaining a first. Jeska began studying for a doctorate there but dropped out of the course. She later attended Leeds University, gaining a master's in 2006 in Gender, Sexuality and Queer Theory.
In March 2016 she attacked Ralph Knibbs, a former professional rugby player and UK Athletics HR manager, with a knife at Alexander Stadium in Birmingham. Jeska stabbed Knibbs in the head and neck several times: one laceration caused life-threatening blood loss and permanent nerve damage. Tim Begley and Kevan Taylor, employees of UK Athletics who came to Knibbs's aid, were also attacked and injured.
In September 2016, Jeska pleaded guilty to attempted murder plus two counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm on Begley and Taylor, and weapons charges for knife possession. Jeska claimed she feared UK Athletics would strip her of her records and her eligibility to compete against female athletes. Jeska was on remand at HM Prison Foston Hall, a women's prison, in Derbyshire. Her racing results were declared null and void.
On 15 November 2016, she was scheduled to be detained in hospital under the Mental Health Act 1983, but the hearing was adjourned for a month pending further psychiatric reports. Jeska was found during these investigations to have autism.
In March 2017, Jeska was jailed for 18 years for the crimes, which severed nerves in Knibbs's body, leaving him with restricted movement, difficulty eating, and limited vision in both eyes.
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