IAAF doctor predicts intersex category in athletics within five to 10 years Dr Stéphane Bermon, head of the IAAF’s health and science department, said it will happen within five to 10 years .
He said that the public is not yet ready for this and they don't want to stigmatise athletes. He is in favour, but says public opinion needs to change first.
New IAAF rules will require women with high testosterone levels to take a pill to lower it below five nanomoles per litre, to enable them to compete in international 400m - 1 mile events.
Some feel it unfairly targets Caster Semenya, who had gender testing in 2009. Germon says In elite female athletics there are 140 times more intersex athletes than in the "normal" female population.
Semenya's gender tests were not made public, but Australia’s Daily Telegraph alleged they showed she had no womb or ovaries but had internal testes.
The IAAF introduced a testosterone limit in 2011 and Semenya was beaten by Mariya Savinova at that year’s world championships and at London 2012.
The IAAF was accused of violating Semenya’s human rights, gross insensitivity and racism.It countered. saying it was trying to ensure women with higher testosterone do not have an unfair advantage.
The IAAF rules were suspended in 2015,and Semenya has been able to run without medication since.
Research has been carried out by the IAAF, which shows that performance levels of women who took hormone-suppressing treatment decreased by 5.7 %
Sebastian Coe, the president of the IAAF, said the new rules are to ensure equal conditions for all athletes.
He said we need to be clear about the competition criteria . Evidence shows that testosterone, naturally or atificially produced gives significant performance advantages to female athletes.
Bermon denies the policy is unfair because it targets women born with natural advantages – not unlike those enjoyed by Usain Bolt by being tall and having fast-twitch muscle fibres.
He said testosterone is the most important factor in explaining the difference between male and female athletes. Some women athletes have levels similar to males.
Sports scientist Ross Tucker predicts Semenya could be 5 - 7 seconds slower next year if she takes testosterone-suppressing medication.
Whether this is morally justified will be fiercely debated in the months ahead.
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https://www.theguardian....athletics-caster-semenyaEdited by user 27 April 2018 08:01:37(UTC)
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