Caster Semenya, the South African two‑time Olympic 800m champion, said on Sunday that the reinstatement by the International Olympic Committee of sex verification tests for the 2028 Los Angeles Games was “a disrespect for women”.
The hyperandrogenic former athlete also expressed disappointment that the measure was taken under the leadership of the new IOC president, Kirsty Coventry of Zimbabwe.
“For me, personally, for her being a woman coming from Africa, knowing how African women or women in the global south are affected by that, of course, it causes harm,” Semenya said during a Cape Town press conference on the sidelines of a sporting competition.
On Thursday the IOC reinstated genetic testing to determine female sex, starting with the 2028 Olympics, in effect banning transgender athletes and a large number of intersex athletes from women’s sports.
The IOC used chromosomal sex testing between 1968 and the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, before abandoning it in 1999 under pressure from the scientific community, which questioned its effectiveness, and from its own athletes’ commission.
“It came as a failure. And that’s why it was dropped,” Semenya said in Cape Town.
So how are they going to verify an individuals sex?
It literally says right there in the text of the post.
Genetic testing.
Yes, but what specifically are they testing for? Y chromosome, 2 XX chromosomes, or SRY gene. Potentially different results for each option
SRY gene.
Afaik the Olympics test hormone levels and use that. Edit: Oh wow they started doing genetic testing again.
Genes are a not reliable test because among the athletic population, 7 per 1,000 women have male genes.
There’s a fantastic article written by Dr Jordan Feigenbaum here which covers the history of methods used and cites scientific studies on the topic.
Well if 7 out of 1000 specifically have the sry gene they probably won’t get to compete.