Causó mucha sorpresa el caso de la atleta sudafricana Caster Semenya, quien – debido a sospechas acerca de su pertenencia sexual - fue suspendida por la IAFF para competir durante buena parte del año 2010, a espera de los exámenes médicos que habrían de decidir si se la consideraría o no como mujer en las competencias. Durante 2011, el COI y la IAAF determinaron que las atletas con hiperandrogenismo (niveles demasiado altos de hormonas masculinas) deberán reducir dichos niveles mediante el uso de estrógenos para hacer así más equitativas las competencias.

In 2010, the South-African athlete Caster Semenya was suspended from all competitions by the International Association of Athletic Federations (IAFF) due to the suspicion that she was not a woman. After a medical investigation, the International Olympic Committee and IAFF decided in 2011 to allow her to compete again. As a consequence of the Semenya case, both organizations issued later that year new regulations establishing that women athletes with hyperandrogenism (that is, too high levels of masculine hormones) won’t be allowed to compete. In this article we question those regulations as we consider them sexist and contrary to the spirit of sports.