Wednesday, July 28, 2004

Intersexual Olympiad

Transsexuals will be allowed to compete in the Athens Olympics, according to this recent article in Le Monde. Hormone treatment will no longer be tantamount to doping and even though testosterone-charged women might have an advantage over some female competitors in the power events, tests to determine sex will not take place.
Athletes who have changed sex before puberty will be allowed to compete freely, while those who've had a sex change post puberty will be considered on a case by case basis. All formerly male competitors in female events must have had their testicles removed, be recognised legally as female in their own countries and have been receiving hormone therapy for at least two years. As yet no transsexual athlete has come forward to participate under these conditions.
Interestingly, Le Monde reckons that when gender testing was first introduced in the 1960s, around 60% of women's world records were held by "intersexual" athletes.

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