From Caster Semenya to Lia Thomas: FIVE sportspeople who changed the gender rulesThe decision by World Athletics to ban male-to-female transgender athletes from women's competition will have a wider effect on global sport.
by AFP
24-03-2023 12:38
in LGBTQIA+
The decision by World Athletics to ban male-to-female transgender athletes from women's competition will have a wider effect on global sport. Photo: Getty Images
The decision taken by World Athletics on Thursday to ban male-to-female transgender athletes from women's competition is likely to have a wider effect on global sports.
--
FOR THE LATEST ATHLETICS NEWS VISIT THE SOUTH AFRICAN WEBSITE
Below, a look at FIVE sportspeople who have previously found themselves at the heart of the gender debate.
Caster Semenya: Hyperandrogeny A double Olympic champion and triple world champion in the 800m, South Africa's Caster Semenya raised all manner of questions about her hyperandrogenism, which causes an elevated level of testosterone.
--
After a controversial victory at the 2009 world championships when she was just 18, the IAAF as World Athletics was previously known introduced rules two years later, for the first time, allowing hyperandrogenic athletes to compete on condition that they display androgen levels below those recorded for men.
But in 2018 the IAAF made it mandatory for athletes, via drug treatments, to lower their testosterone levels to under 5 nanomoles per litre of blood for six months in order to compete in international events from 400m to the mile.
The decision was badly received in South Africa where it was interpreted as a way to slow down Semenya who unsuccessfuly challenged the ruling in court and was unable to defend her 800m title in the 2019 Doha world championships.
--
She did not make the qualifying for the Tokyo Olympics in the 200m and failed to reach the final of the 5 000m at the world championships in Eugene.
PHOTO | Caster Semenya and wife share first picture of baby No 2
Laurel Hubbard: Olympic pioneer In August 2021, in Tokyo, New Zealand weightlifter Laurel Hubbard, then 43 years old, made history by becoming the first openly transgender woman to take part in an Olympic event.
Hubbard met the qualification criteria for the Olympics, which required that her testosterone level be maintained below 10 nmol per litre for at least 12 months.
In spite of meeting the requirements, Hubbard's participation was widely criticised.
Subsequently, the IOC gave up at the end of 2021 on establishing uniform guidelines for the participation criteria of intersex and transgender athletes, leaving it to the separate international federations.
Emily Bridges: Wheels in motion Transgender cyclist Emily Bridges, who had previously competed at elite level as Zach Bridges, was initially allowed to compete in last year's British National Omnium Championships, after having met the criteria laid down by the national cycling federation.
However, Bridges, now 22, was forced to pull out because she was not eligible under International Cycling Union (UCI) rules.
A week later, British Cycling decided to suspend its rules regarding the participation of transgender and non-binary athletes in competitions. In November, the policy was still under review .
Lia Thomas: Making waves In February 2022, USA Swimming decided to revise its rules, limiting testosterone levels to less than 5 nmol/l for a period of at least 36 months for any transgender athletes wanting to compete at the elite level.
The change was prompted by the controversy surrounding the performance of swimmer Lia Thomas in the university championship. Born male and having begun transition in 2019, Thomas was adjudged by detractors to be physiologically advantaged.
Barely a month later, the University of Pennsylvania swimmer won the women's 500-yard freestyle final. It was an historic victory, made possible by the refusal of the NCAA, which governs college sports, not to apply the new USA federation rules.
In June 2022, FINA, the international swimming federation, announced that it wanted to create an open category for transgender athletes. But it limited entry to its women's categories to swimmers who became women before puberty .
ALSO READ | Lia Thomas: Five things to know about the transgender swimmer
Hannah Mouncey: Aussie rules Hannah Mouncey was a top level men's handball player, picking up 22 selections for Australia. Mouncey began transitioning in 2015 and switched attentions to women's Australian Rules Football.
In 2017, however, Mouncey was banned by the Australian Football League (AFL) from participating in the AFLW draft.
The federation then admitted that Mouncey, now 33, has taken part in a process that will contribute to the development of policies and procedures with regard to transgender people .
Mouncey went on to play one season in 2018 before reverting to handball, going on to represent Australia's women's team.
By Garrin Lambley Agence France-Presse
How much of a rugby fanatic are you? FIVE simple answers could win you R1 000 in cash!
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
18/05/2026
Despite a bumpy start to the year, the provider of event-production support and ...
18/05/2026
Daktronics has partnered with the University of North Carolina to manufacture and install 11 LED displays totaling more than 10,000 square feet and more than 14...
18/05/2026
CBS LA has announced a multi-year partnership with the Los Angeles Rams, covering exclusive local broadcasts of Rams preseason games, weekly year-round programm...
18/05/2026
Skyline Communications has announced an integration between its DataMiner xOps p...
18/05/2026
eCLUTCH, the hybrid esports platform powered by iKOMG, has announced an expansion of its distribution across Europe, MENA, Africa, and Asia, along with new cont...
18/05/2026
Behind The Mic provides a roundup of recent news regarding on-air talent, includ...
18/05/2026
With 22 games this season, the production team looks forward to tweaking and enhancing the coverage
After 8,660 days off the air, the WNBA returned to NBC yest...
18/05/2026
(L-R) Midori Francis and Natalie Erika James attend the Saccharine premiere during the 2026 Sundance Film Festival at The Ray Theatre on January 22, 2026, in ...
18/05/2026
Last night, the Spotify Podcast Awards in Mexico returned to the country's capital. Now in its second year, the evening honors creators whose voices are hel...
18/05/2026
ZEN-Core synth goes mobile
Roland's powerful ZEN-Core software synthesizer has just been introduced to the iPad, offering a convenient entry point into ...
18/05/2026
Versatile new limiter plug-in announced
Based in Sheffield, UK, fedDSP offer a range of plug-ins that span the music production, live sound and high-end med...
18/05/2026
A new use for convolution?
Viiri Audio's debut plug-in aims to do something a little different with convolution processing, allowing users to adjust all...
18/05/2026
Delta Goodrem shines for SBS as more than 3.27 million Australians tune in for E...
18/05/2026
The Australian Defence Force uses L3Harris T4 and T7 robots for explosive ordnan...
18/05/2026
Continued investment across Europe and Germany is expanding local teams and improving access to stock, regional expertise, and specialist broadcast support.
CV...
18/05/2026
18 May 2026
Dubai and New York, May 18, 2026 - VEON Ltd. (NASDAQ: VEON), a glob...
18/05/2026
Monday 18 May 2026
Sky News offers ad-free podcasts and bonus episodes for just...
18/05/2026
Comscore March 2026 Consumer AI Chatbot Usage Rankings Show Claude Gaining Share OpenAI's ChatGPT maintains lead while Anthropic's Claude continues to c...
17/05/2026
Delta Goodrem's Eurovision Eclipse marks end of a stellar run
17 May, 2026
Media releases
Bulgaria wins Eurovision 2026
Relive every spellbinding mome...
17/05/2026
Back to All News
Oasis Premieres on Netflix June 19
Entertainment
17 May 2026
GlobalSpain
Link copied to clipboard
Summer, sunshine, the beach, parties. T...
16/05/2026
Helps to deliver a clean, balanced midrange
Developed alongside Newfangled Audio, the latest plug-in in Eventide's software collection has been designed...
16/05/2026
Brings onboard stem rendering to RANE System One
Engine DJ have just released Engine DJ 5.0, a free update for their Engine DJ OS embedded hardware and Engi...
16/05/2026
Boris FX Continuum Pairs AI Precision and Advanced Creative Controls
Jessie Electa Petrov May 16, 2026
0 Comments
The 2026.5 release adds automatic de...
16/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
16/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
16/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
16/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
15/05/2026
Seattle Sounders FC and Seattle Reign FC, in partnership with RAVE Foundation an...
15/05/2026
Dan Brumm has served as sound designer on Bluey, the Australian children's t...
15/05/2026
The Professional Audio Manufacturers Alliance (PAMA) and Shure Incorporated are accepting applications for the 6th annual Mark Brunner Professional Audio Schola...
15/05/2026
Netflix has announced an expanded NFL schedule for 2026 and beyond under a four-year partnership extension with the NFL through the 2029-30 season. Each season,...
15/05/2026
Ateme is supporting TVRI (Televisi Republik Indonesia) with a contribution and d...
15/05/2026
Concacaf has announced the launch of a new website and mobile app built on Deltatre's FORGE platform. Concacaf.com and the mobile app, available on iOS and ...
15/05/2026
Eutelsat has announced the launch of QBC Business Economic Channel by Qatar Media Corporation, broadcasting in 4K/UHD via Eutelsat's 7/8 West video neighbo...
15/05/2026
Major League Soccer has announced four original content series timed to the 2026...
15/05/2026
The Alliance for IP Media Solutions (AIMS) has announced it will exhibit and present at InfoComm 2026, taking place June 13-19 at the Las Vegas Convention Cente...
15/05/2026
InfoComm 2026 will take place June 13-19 (exhibits June 17-19) at the Las Vegas Convention Center. The show will include sessions and exhibits covering broadcas...
15/05/2026
Tracy McGrady's Ones Basketball League (OBL) and FuboTV Inc. have announced ...
15/05/2026
Disguise has partnered with Creative Technology (CT) to deliver visual playback ...
15/05/2026
Sony Electronics has announced two new products for professional imaging: the Alpha 7R VI full-frame mirrorless camera and the FE 100-400mm F4.5 GM OSS super-te...
15/05/2026
In-venue and creative video staffers at the professional and collegiate level ha...
15/05/2026
Ratings Roundup is a rundown of recent rating news and is derived from press rel...
15/05/2026
For sports organizations, the most valuable assets are often the most sensitive:...
15/05/2026
The NFL's broadcast partners released their 2026 regular season schedules ye...
15/05/2026
Besides drawing on experience with boxing, the production integrates specialty c...
From Caster Semenya to Lia Thomas: FIVE sportspeople who changed the gender rulesThe decision by World Athletics to ban male-to-female transgender athletes from women's competition will have a wider effect on global sport.
