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from the just-testosterone-for-now...-but-in-100-years...? dept.
What exactly makes a woman? Track and field's world governing body thinks the answer has to do with levels of serum testosterone, at least when it comes to female runners competing in middle-distance races.
The International Association of Athletics Federation announced a new set of rules Thursday that will ban women who naturally produce higher-than-normal levels of testosterone from participating in races ranging from 400 meters to the mile, unless they agree to take medication. Athletes with the condition, called hyperandrogenism, would be eligible to compete at the international level only if they reduced blood testosterone levels through the use of hormonal contraceptives, including birth control pills. The rule will go into effect on Nov. 1.
"Our evidence and data show that testosterone, either naturally produced or artificially inserted into the body, provides significant performance advantages in female athletes," said IAAF President Sebastian Coe in a statement. "The revised rules are not about cheating, no athlete with a [difference of sexual development] has cheated, they are about levelling the playing field to ensure fair and meaningful competition in the sport of athletics where success is determined by talent, dedication and hard work rather than other contributing factors," he added.
The new stipulations are stricter than those established by the IAAF in 2011, which limited women's testosterone levels to 10 nanomoles per liter of blood. The new requirements reduce the limit by half to 5 nanomoles per liter. That is still far above levels in most women, including elite female athletes, whose levels range from 0.12 to 1.79 nanomoles per liter, states a 22-page IAAF document [auto-download PDF] defending the organization's decision. Meanwhile, the normal male range after puberty is much higher, from 7.7 to 29.4 nanomoles.
Previously, the Court of Arbitration for Sport struck down the IAAF's hyperandrogenism regulations in response to a challenge by sprinter Dutee Chand.
Related: The Caster Semenya Debate
The Olympics, Science and Intersex
(Score: 1) by RandomFactor on Saturday April 28 2018, @01:49PM
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Shhhh, they'll hear you and start doing this... :-p
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It has started happening in competitions already (weightlifting, wrestling and others) where barely competitive former male athletes are crushing female elite athletes and breaking records.
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They don't have to suppress the testosterone afaik, they let if fade normally and just benefit from the physical advantages gained by having it their entire lives as their physique developed. The only way to compete for women soon enough will be to take testosterone their entire lives.
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If someone wants to twiddle with their genetic gender with surgery and hormone therapy, it is THEIR body and choice, but it should automatically put them in the hardest (typically 'mens' ) category permanently in sports.
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