Female athletes ‘coerced’ into surgery to curb testosterone levels
Two elite athletes with differences in sex development (DSD) claim their careers were ruined after they were coerced by the sport into having testosterone-reducing surgery.
Annet Negesa, a former champion middle-distance runner for Uganda, alleges in a new documentary that Stephane Bermon, now the chief medical officer of the International Association of Athletics Federations, left her “in the dark about the far-reaching consequences” of having her internal testes removed.
Negesa, 27, who was touted as a candidate for the 800metres women’s final before London 2012 Olympics, never competed again after undergoing the treatment to reduce high natural testosterone levels discovered before the Games.
In order to avoid a ban, she claims she agreed to undergo a consultation with Bermon before having a gonadectomy – the removal of internal testes, which caused the increased testosterone production.
“They told me it was kind of an injection, they were pulling out my testosterone,” Negesa says in an interview with ARD, a German broadcaster. “But that’s not what they did. When I woke up, I had wounds.”
A second elite athlete, whose name was withheld by the programme amid fears over her safety, allegedly claims doctors said she had no other option than surgery.
“I had no choice,” claims the athlete. “I have often thought of killing myself, They stole my life, my existence. Just like that, they took away my dream. I wish that I had died in her hands at that time, because she would then have been held accountable and punished.”
The athlete, who accompanied ARD to a German hormone specialist, is now said to be suffering from bone loss due to years of hormone deficiency and depression. The programme claims the pair’s careers were ruined because of “inadequate medical aftercare as well as physical and mental damage as a result of the interventions”.
The IAAF has told Telegraph Sport that Bermon was not present at the alleged consultation. The governing body denied offering any recommendation regarding surgery. A senior spokeswoman said “The IAAF encourages relevant athletes to seek independent, medical advice and will, if requested, provide athletes with information on independent experts and reference centre specialists.
“The IAAF has never recommended surgery to any athletes affected by its regulations, nor paid for any of their treatment. It has in some cases paid for the investigation of the case. Dr Bermon was not present when the athlete interviewed underwent surgery in Uganda and did not recommend that course of action to her.”