Sex-Hormone Guidelines For Athletes Will Never Be Fair
LatestAn international sporting body has issued new guidelines concerning hormone levels and who can compete as a woman. The new rules could resolve some of the questions raised in the wake of the Caster Semenya scandal, but they may also create problems of their own.
According to Joanna Marchant of Nature, the guidelines, proposed by the International Olympic Commission on April 5 and accepted by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) on April 12, stipulate that a woman with “testosterone levels in the male range” won’t be able to compete with other women, or with men. However! Women with androgen insensitivity syndrome, who may have internal testes but whose bodies are unable to respond to testosterone, will still be eligible, since experts say the hormone doesn’t give them a competitive advantage. Some scientists welcome both the rule and the exception — says biochemist Malcolm Collins, “It makes the playing field fair.”