Caster Semenya: a questionable ruling and a worrying precedent | Letters
It is far from clear that testosterone is responsible for the athletic success of Caster Semenya and Dutee Chand (Caster Semenya loses testosterone legal case but may launch new appeal, 2 May). They are elite female athletes whose high level of testosterone is genetic and due to failure of the tissues to respond to testosterone secreted by the testes. Therefore treatment to reduce testosterone is unlikely to affect their condition, although the side-effects of the therapy may adversely affect performance.
It is known from the Atlanta Games that athletes with differences in sexual development (DSD) maintain Olympic levels of performance even after removal of their testes. Unbiased evidence confirming this is held by the IAAF, which has confidential records from previous gender verification tests. The IAAF has a responsibility to reveal the anonymous data which could help in Semenya's appeal against the verdict from the court of arbitration for sport.
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