A FINA decision on trans athletes has reignited the debate over what the physiology of sport says about the topic.
Under the new ruling, only trans athletes who have transitioned before age 12 – the period when puberty begins – can compete with cis women, with a blood testosterone level of 2.5 nmol/L.
For those who do not apply this rule, a new, separate category will be created for them to compete. The rules, however, do not apply to trans men, who continue to compete without restrictions.
In an interview with CNN Radio on CNN No Plural+, the professor of endocrinology at Universidade São Camilo, Leonardo Alvares, explained that, until this rule, the associations followed the guidelines of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
However, the IOC itself has recommended that each federation, within its sport category, review its own regulations for transgender individuals.
“It is interesting because this orientation begins to show a need to individualize sports, each one will have a specificity, taking into account different physical aspects of the modalities.”
At the same time, however, the endocrinologist believes that the orientation established by FINA is early.
“Within the physiology of sport, we have been crawling in studies related to transgender individuals undergoing hormone therapy and pubertal block,” he said.
Leonardo Alvares explains that the updated data show that “the muscle mass of trans women, who developed male puberty and then started hormone therapy, drops, but does not compare to the levels of a cis woman.”
This means, therefore, that there is an “intermediate level” of trans athletes – both in terms of muscle mass, strength and also cardiopulmonary capacity.
“From a scientific point of view, trans women have intermediate sporting abilities”, they don’t reach the level of a cis man, but they are also not on the same level as cis women.
On the other hand, the specialist himself brings another factor, which is that, generally, a multidisciplinary team evaluates a child and adolescent who may be trans – and this is not simple.
“This assessment is very difficult, by the end of adolescence, up to 85% of transgender people will not actually be trans in adulthood and will not transition, the cutoff point of age from 12 years old is a medical concern because anticipates the important decision and can have long-term consequences”, he pondered.
Access to health services for children and adolescents before that age “is very difficult,” he said.
The age for hormone treatment in Brazil, for example, is 18 years old – which would already leave trans Brazilian female athletes out of the FINA rule.
It is because of all these nuances that the doctor argues that bioethics and human rights professionals should be included in the decision: “Human beings have to be seen from different aspects.”
“From a research point of view, all health professionals who work with sport have an obligation to develop more studies to support the decision-making of sports federations”, he added.
Source: CNN Brasil
