In the US, where the rights of transgender persons in various situations in social life have been a controversial topic of discussion for some time, the sporting achievements of a transwoman have prompted the respective sports governing body to adopt new rules. They are aimed at ensuring fair sporting competition women’s events and the chance for transgender persons to compete in professional sports.
British-Canadian news agency Reuters reports that in the US, the national swimming governing body USA Swimming developed the rules in relation to the University of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas. She competed on the men’s team for three years before engaging in hormone therapy and switching to the women’s team and setting multiple program records.
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The new rules, to be put in place by a panel of three independent medical experts, will look to ensure that «prior physical development of the athlete as a male … does not give the athlete a competitive advantage over the athlete’s cisgender female competitors.» The term «cisgender» refers to people, who have not changed their gender identity from the one registered at birth.
The panel of medical experts will also be obliged to test to make sure that the testosterone level of a transgender woman athlete is below a certain threshold. USA Swimming has set it for transgender athletes, who wish to compete against cisgender female swimmers, at 5 nanomoles per litre continuously for at least 36 months.
The world swimming governing body is meanwhile developing its own rules to address the situation globally, Reuters reports.
US developing rules to allow transgender persons in professional sports
