The participation of transgender athletes is also controversially discussed in sport. However, there is hardly any scientific data so far. (IMAGO/UPI Photo)
Do transgender athletes have lower jumping ability, lower lung capacity and therefore less endurance than cisgender, i.e. biological women? At least that’s what the results of a study by the University of Brighton in Great Britain suggest. It is the first large-scale study conducted on transgender athletes – and now challenges the assumption that these athletes have significant physical benefits even after hormone therapy.
Blair Hamilton contributed to this study. “I don’t think the study gives us a definitive answer as to whether trans athletes definitely have advantages or disadvantages. But the results are at least a warning sign that complete exclusions should be introduced without us having a definitive answer to this question.”
Cross-sectional study not really meaningful
The study, published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, compares values of transgender and biological athletes who train at least three times a week – in all types of sports. It is a cross-sectional study, which also means that the participating athletes were only tested once – a random sample, so to speak, with transgender athletes who have been taking hormone-suppressing drugs for an average of six years.
“It’s great that they’re doing fitness tests on trans people,” says Swedish physiologist Tommy Lundberg. “Unfortunately, it is a cross-sectional study. This means there is no way to determine how much influence hormone therapy had on the results because only one value was measured at a time. In addition, the groups are not well coordinated with one another. For example, trans women weigh much more; their BMI indicates that they are overweight. If you look at their endurance ratings, they are much less fit than the cisgender women they are being compared to. So it’s impossible to know what effect hormone suppression had on the results.”
Transgender athletes are their own sub-group
The study also shows that transgender athletes retain certain physical advantages, such as grip strength, over biological women. Other studies carried out on non-athletes have also come to this conclusion in the past. Tommy Lundberg believes that the new study should not be used to revise the regulations of sports associations now.
Gender diversity in sport
Colorful, more colorful, queer
Gender diversity in sport
Colorful, more colorful, queer
Professional sports in particular still have major problems recognizing gender diversity. Traditional body images and gender roles are very important here. What options are there to make sport more diverse and therefore fairer?
Criticism from the German Chess Federation
World Chess Association excludes trans women from women’s events
The world chess federation FIDE has decided to ban trans women from international women’s competitions. It is said that only an investigation by the FIDE Council can lift the ban in individual cases. The German Chess Federation expresses sharp criticism.
Transgender in sports
The search for solutions to a previously unsolvable problem
Scientist Joanna Harper has been researching trans* athletes for years. This is one of the reasons why she sits at the big tables of sports politics and tries to draw up regulations that enable the participation of trans* women. A difficult undertaking.
“That’s not why we did the study in the first place,” says Blair Hamilton from the University of Brighton. “We wanted to first understand transgender athletes in general. We now have all these sports associations that set up regulations without there being any scientific data on transgender athletes. And we have now made the first data available to better understand transgender athletes in general.”
For Blair Hamilton, the study mainly provides one insight: transgender athletes are their own sub-group and should be treated as such in future studies. Many sports associations had previously also used studies with biological men in their rules to prove that trans* women have physical advantages and should therefore be excluded from the women’s class.
“It’s a good start to better understanding transgender athletes. We cannot overstate these results now, but we are on the right track to understand the bigger picture.”
Criticism of IOC guidelines on the inclusion of transgender people
The study was co-financed by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), which recently adjusted its guidelines for the inclusion of transgender athletes. Instead of setting fixed guidelines for testosterone in the blood, for example, the IOC has drawn up guidelines that sports associations should follow. But these guidelines are highly problematic because they completely ignore scientific facts, claim 26 academics in a position paper last month. One of them: The Swede Tommy Lundberg.
“They have very loose principles. The IOC, for example, says that no natural advantage should be assumed for trans* people. But that goes against the basic idea of a women’s category in sport. This only exists because it is a biological reality that men are on average more muscular, taller and broader and therefore have many physical advantages over women, which are crucial in sport. So this is not just an assumption, but a biological reality.”
Inclusion of transgender athletes is not necessarily welcomed
From Tommy Lundberg’s point of view, there are currently enough studies that prove that trans* women still have significant advantages over cisgender, i.e. biological, women even after hormone therapy.
“Another big problem is that the IOC does not include the other athletes as one of the main stakeholders. When you talk about the stakeholders in this debate, transgender athletes are mentioned, but the other female athletes are ignored.”
A recent survey by Swansea University shows that current competitive athletes are not necessarily positive about the inclusion of transgender athletes. Of the 175 active and former competitive athletes who were surveyed, almost 58 percent were of the opinion that transgender athletes should be excluded from the women’s class. However, the answers sometimes vary greatly, explains Andy Harvey, who contributed to the study.
“Female athletes who participate in a contact sport were much more likely to be in favor of excluding transgender athletes than athletes from precision sports, such as archery.”
Differences were also noticeable between former and active female athletes: Older ex-athletes were more likely to be in favor of excluding trans women than younger, still active competitive athletes. A finding that is also important for Andy Harvey “because older, former athletes often take high-ranking positions in the sports associations and then actively work on the rules. “So it’s important that these ex-athletes always consider the opinions of current athletes and not use their own views to make rules.”
Further studies must follow
What the survey also showed: “Even athletes who support the exclusion of transgender women paradoxically believe that every sport needs to be more open to transgender athletes. So that’s a tension: On an abstract level, saying: Yes, sport needs to be more inclusive. But when it comes to my direct competition: I don’t want them to compete against me.”
What could provide clarity on questions surrounding the inclusion of transgender athletes would be further studies that examine exactly how hormone therapy affects physical performance in sports and, in the next step, in specific sports. This is exactly what Blair Hamilton now wants to explore in more detail. The cross-sectional study that has now been published was therefore only the starting point.
“Phase 2 is now the long-term studies in which we accompany and examine transgender athletes from the start of hormone therapy. For one, two and three years, and then see what areas they improve or deteriorate in.”
Participants are currently still being sought for this study. It will take a few more years until the final results are available.
