Do biological males have a strength advantage over females after their testosterone levels are suppressed enough to compete in the Olympics?
Correct Answer
A recent study published in the journal Sports Medicine found that "strength, lean body mass, muscle size and bone density are only trivially affected" by the testosterone suppression regimes that biological males use to meet the requirements to compete in female Olympic sports. This gives them a "major performance" advantage and has "safety implications" in sports where strength is critical, like wrestling, boxing, and weightlifting. Likewise, a 2021 study in the British Journal of Sports Medicine found that lean body mass and muscle area "in transwomen remain above those" of biological women "even after 36 months of hormone therapy."
DocumentationJournal Sports MedicineBritish Journal of Sports Medicine