Namibian teens could win — and lose — big
200m racers at centre of DSD controversy
Two Namibian teenagers may be on the verge of creating an uncomfortable new athletics event; the 200-metre rule book shuffle.
Should one or both of Christine Mboma and Beatrice Masilingi win a medal in the women’s 200m final on Tuesday, it will grab the attention of executives at World Athletics, the sport’s governing body.
Mboma and Masilingi, both 18, have been designated by World Athletics as athletes with differences in sexual development or DSD. Their natural testosterone levels exceed the limit accepted by World Athletics for entry into all female events. Under regulations adopted in 2018, when the organization was known as the International Association of Athletics Federations, the teenagers are barred from running at distances from 400 metres to the mile, unless they agree to take medication that lowers their testosterone levels for six months prior to competition and maintain an acceptable level while continuing to compete.
World Athletics said the distance ban was based on widely accepted medical science and statistical studies of past performance that show “significant overrepresentation of DSD athletes in certain events, and their success in those events.”
It’s still harsh, and it could get worse for Mboma and Masilingi. If they win big, they could lose even bigger, given this excerpt from the World Athletics regulations, which took effect in November 2018.
“It appears that these events (track events run over distances between 400m to one mile) are where the most performance-enhancing benefits can be obtained from elevated levels of circulating testosterone, i.e., both from the extra strength and power derived from the increases in muscle mass and strength, and from the extra oxygen transfer and uptake derived from the increased hemoglobin in the blood. Therefore, taking a conservative approach, the new regulations only apply to such events. However, the revised regulations expressly confirm that the IAAF Health & Science Department will keep this under review.
“If future evidence or new scientific knowledge indicates that there is good justification to expand or narrow the number of events affected by the regulations, it will propose such revisions to the IAAF Council.”