List of intersex Olympians
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There have been 16[lower-alpha 1] modern Olympic athletes widely known to have an intersex (disorders/differences of sex development) condition.[lower-alpha 2][lower-alpha 3] The 1932 Summer Olympics was the first instance of an athlete now known to be intersex competing, also winning a medal. 7 have won a medal (43.75% of intersex athletes), with 3 winning at least one gold (18.75% of intersex athletes).[lower-alpha 1] The majority of intersex Olympians have competed in athletics, generally running.[lower-alpha 1]
This article needs to be updated. (October 2023) |
The Olympics have "been dealing with" intersex athletes since the 1930s, with notable cases appearing at the 1936 Summer Olympics in the form of Stella Walsh and Heinrich Ratjen. Walsh's case was handled sympathetically, while Ratjen's Games appearance may have been deliberately dishonest.[1] In the 1960s, when systemic doping became a significant issue and it was harder to tell the difference between men and doped women, sex verification was first implemented.[1][2] An early and inadequate test in 1967 incorrectly identified Ewa Kłobukowska as not female, seeing her past Olympic achievements written off and her career end.[3] Between 1968 and 1998, all female athletes at the Olympics were subject to sex verification as a matter of process[2][4][5] (with the exception of Anne, Princess Royal, who competed in 1976).[6][lower-alpha 4] Until 1992, the test used was to identify chromosomes, something that had been deemed unreliable in the scientific community for decades;[2][1] Maria José Martínez-Patiño was banned from women's athletics after qualifying for the 1988 Summer Olympics, before being allowed to compete again later that year.[5][9]
Prior to the 1996 Summer Olympics, intersex Brazilian judoka Edinanci Silva had surgery to allow her to continue in women's sport. She would appear at this Games and several other editions.[1] Also competing in 1996 were eight (unknown) female athletes who were discovered to have an intersex condition upon testing (seven with androgen insensitivity); all were cleared to compete and, after the Games, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) abolished the universal testing so as to protect the dignity of athletes who do not already know they have these conditions.[1][2] The IOC do still perform sex testing for athletes of any gender (though invariably women) when "serious doubts" are raised.[1] In 2012, the IOC changed its mode of verification, testing for testosterone, which has also been considered unreliable and discriminatory.[5] The suspicion-based approach has been criticised as it enables racist discrimination.[10] Various international medical and sports professionals have advocated for the abolition of sex verification in sport, and specifically the Olympics.[2][11] In 2018, World Athletics began requiring intersex women to take medications or have surgery in order to be eligible, which could prevent them from attending events that serve as Olympic qualifiers.[4] Successful intersex Olympian Caster Semenya has refused to take hormone medication, which saw her banned from participation.[12]