The exclusion of transgender athletes communicated by the president of the World Athletics, Sebastian Coegenerated different repercussions taking into account that it is decisive for the classification of Paris 2024 Olympic Games. Now, it was the turn of a protagonist affected by the decision, since the French athlete Halba Diouf gave his opinion in an interview with the agency Reuters and criticized the international athletics federation: “The only safeguard that transgender women have is their right to live as they wish, and we are denied that, we are harassed… I feel marginalized because they exclude me from competitions”.
diouf He was born in Senegal as a man and arrived in the European country at the age of four before moving as an adult to the city of Aix-en-Provence. Started hormone therapy to change sex until gender transition was recognized by the authorities of the French territory in 2021. “I can’t understand this decision, as transgender women have always been allowed to compete if their testosterone levels were below a certain threshold.”, affirmed the specialist runner in the 200 meters, who will be deprived of defending her Nation if there is no reversal in the decision announced last March.
Also, your endocrinologist, Alain Berlinerexplained that “is a woman, from the physiological, hormonal and legal point of view”. “Their testosterone levels are currently below those found on average in women who were born female,” she added.
Despite these complaints, the World Athletics does not show signs of reversing the communication of last March, through which any transgender athlete who has gone through male puberty was banned from participating in international female competitions that score for the world ranking.
long ago, Coe he had stated that a task force was to be created to further investigate the eligibility guidelines for transgenders. “We won’t say no forever”, stressed the official. The holder of the World Athletics He added that this was guided by the “general principle of protect the female category”. And she recounted: “Decisions are always difficult when they involve conflicting needs and rights between different groups, but we continue to believe that we must maintain equity for women athletes above all other considerations.”
The initiative took the same line as that established by the International Swimming Federation (FINE), which in June 2022 deprived transgender athletes from competing in elite women’s events if they have gone through any stage of the male puberty process. The new measure highlights that those transgender competitors who have completed their transition before the age of 12 may participate. In addition, the organization seeks to establish a category “open” for swimming competitions of participants whose gender identities are different from those assigned at birth.
This caused a dialectical cross between the winner of 18 Grand Slam, Navratilovaand the transgender swimmer Lia Thomaswho had said on the “Dear Schuyler” podcast that there are those who are “using the disguise of feminism to push transphobic beliefs”. This phrase triggered the spark of the former number 1 in the world and activist of the gay community: “Lia, it’s not fair. We shouldn’t have to explain it to you over and over again. Also, stop explaining feminism to feminists.”.
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