A Debate Over This Athlete's Testosterone Levels Could Redefine the Olympics

Middle-distance runner and world champion Caster Semenya might redefine the 2016 Olympics this month. The South African athlete could potentially win the gold medal at the 800 meter event and break a world record. But some are wondering if her competing in women's events breaks Olympic rules.

The controversy is rooted in speculations as to whether Semenya is intersex, a fact she never verified. She's always said she's a woman, and her birth certificate says she's a woman. Still, the question has turned into a humiliating public debate over the athlete's genitalia.

Some have called her hyperandrogenous, suggesting that her body produces extra testosterone. The International Association of Athletics Federations, which oversees track and field, has rules that limit the acceptable amount of testosterone a female athlete can produce if she wants to compete.

According to these rules, a suspected hyperandrogenous female athlete would have to undergo a three-stage medical evaluation to see whether or not she has extra testosterone that may give her an unfair advantage over athletes. In the case that she does have extra testosterone, the Federation would want her to have it lowered through medications like Spironolactone, along with external estrogen.

These rules, however, don't apply to Semenya, since the Court of Arbitration for Sport suspended them last summer until the Federation could prove not only the difference between male and female testosterone levels, but also prove the advantage hyperandrogenic women would have.

When Semenya won the 800 meter race in 2009, competitors questioned her femininity. Soon after, the Federation made a rule that female athletes could not compete if their testosterone levels exceeded 10 nanomoles per liter, which is three times higher than 99 percent of the elite female athletes.

Still, while Semenya is back this season and looking forward to the participating, other athletes have their reservations about competing with her.

"I think it challenges and threatens the integrity of women's sports to have intersex athletes competing against genetic women," Olympic runner Shannon Rowbury said in a video. "I think we already have an established precedent of men's sports and women's sports and I think we need to honor that women have fought far too long to even have the right to compete. Now it's being challenged by intersex and trans athletes and I don't think thats right."

The question arises though, as to whether other natural genetic advantages should

disqualify

athletes such as runner Usain Bolt's, with his fast-twitch muscle fibers, or cyclist Miguel Indurain's great lung capacity.

The controversy also brings up an issue for transgender athletes. Athletes who have transitioned from male to female are able to compete without having had surgery, but must keep their testosterone at certain levels.

"The reason why women can't excel against men is a testosterone-based advantage," Joanna Harper, a transgender women and intersex studies expert, told USA Today. "The essence of dividing sport is largely based on testosterone advantage. Using a testosterone-based divide (for women's sports) is the best that we can do. It's a compromise of trying to protect female athletes and also giving intersex and transgender athletes a chance to compete."

"There's no perfect solution. It's very difficult. It's absolutely not the same case as being a very tall or very fast athlete."