FUN & OLYMPIC GAMES FOR TRANS-SEXUALS

:smiley:
LONDON, Nov 13 AP - Athletes who have undergone sexchange operations will be eligible to compete in theOlympics for the first time under new rules beingfinalised by the IOC.
The International Olympic Committee convened a meetingin Sweden last month of medical experts in the field andwill announce its policy in the next few weeks.
We will have no discrimination,'' IOC medicaldirector Patrick Schamasch told The Associated Presstoday. The IOC will respect human rights.’’

Details are still being worked out, but Schamasch saidtranssexual athletes will be eligible for the Olympicsonce they have passed a certain amount of time aftersex-change surgery.
The trend is to have an ineligibility period,'' hesaid. Then after certain conditions have been fulfilled,the athlete will be able to compete in his or her newsex.’’
The exact length of the waiting period hasn’t beendetermined. Schamasch said officials want to make surethat any side effects of hormone therapy have worn off.
Schamasch said he didn’t know whether there were anypotential transsexual athletes in line to compete innext summer’s Athens Olympics, but noted severalinternational sports federations have asked the IOC forguidance.
We need to be proactive,'' he said. The rule covers both male-to-female and female-to-malecases. Some contend transsexual athletes have a physicaladvantage against other women. Men have higher levels of testosterone and greatermuscle-to-fat ratio and heart and lung capacity. However, doctors say, testosterone levels and musclemass drop after hormone therapy and sex-change surgery. Until 1999, the IOC conducted gender verificationtests at the Olympics but the controversial screeningswere dropped before the 2000 Sydney Games. One reason for the change was that not all women havestandard female chromosomes. In addition, there are cases of people who haveambiguous genitalia or other congenital conditions. Over the decades, there have been various accusationsof men impersonating women and competing in theOlympics. The eligibility of transsexuals to participate needsto be clarified and dealt with,’’ Arne Ljungqvist, theIOC medical commission chairman who organised themeeting of experts in Stockholm.
One of the best-known cases of transsexuals in sportsinvolves Renee Richards, formerly Richard Raskin, whoplayed on the women’s tennis tour in the 1970s.
Recently, Canada’s Michelle Dumaresq made newscompeting as a mountain bike racer.
Formerly Michael, Dumaresq had sex reassignmentsurgery in 1996 and competed for Canada at last year’sWorld Championships in Austria.
She finished 24th in the downhill discipline.
``I’m in contact with several other athletes with atrans history and some could qualify for the nextOlympics,’’ she said in an email message.
Dumaresq still has a licence to race. While mountainbiking is an Olympic event, her discipline is not.
:eek:

thats disgusting