Explained: The controversy over Olympic rules for trans athletes

Trans women are required to undergo hormonal therapy to participate, while trans men have no such restrictions

A historic moment for the transgender community has been mired in controversy as a heated debate has broken out over New Zealand weightlifter Laurel Hubbard’s selection for the Tokyo Olympics this summer — the first transgender athlete to compete in the women’s event.

The 43-year-old Hubbard will take part in the super-heavyweight 87+kg category, having competed in men's weightlifting competitions before she transitioned in 2013.

While current International Olympic Committee (IOC) guidelines outlined in 2015 allow transgender athletes to participate in both men and women’s events, commentators and participants have been split on whether the inclusion of transgender women would put biologically female players at a disadvantage.

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The 2015 IOC guidelines categorically state that transgender athletes are allowed to participate in the sex-based category they have transitioned to, but also says that trans women are required to undergo hormone therapy to keep testosterone levels in their blood serum below 10 nanomoles per litre for at least a year prior to and during the competition to be eligible to participate in female-only events. Players who transition from female to male are not subjected to any such conditions and can participate freely.

Besides this, particularly for trans women, the IOC states, “The athlete has declared that her gender identity is female. The declaration cannot be changed, for sporting purposes, for a minimum of four years.”

Much of the debate centres around the biological edge that biologically male sportspersons have over female players and the role that testosterone plays in that advantage. During puberty, testosterone encourages the development of bigger muscles with faster twitching fibres in men, tougher bones and a larger heart and lungs, giving them a lifelong upper hand in speed and strength.

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Critics argue that it is not enough to regulate testosterone levels of transgender athletes in women’s events as it does not take away the biological advantages they have had as a result of male puberty.

However, transgender rights activists have countered the argument by saying that it was impossible to eliminate all biological advantages in any sport — bigger feet while swimming or height in basketball. They have also argued that there was not enough evidence to link testosterone directly to better performance.

The issue of including trans women in sport is rooted in the IOC's struggle to define the criteria to decide who qualifies as female in the context of sport. The quandary has brought the sex of several female athletes under investigation over the years, including South African inter-sex woman athlete Mokgadi Caster Semenya and India’s Dutee Chand.