RIO DE JANEIRO — The young athlete, now competing at the Rio Games, always considered herself to be a girl just like the others, a girl who loved to run. Then the governing body of track and field told her she was different, so different that her track career could be over.
Marked “confidential” and signed “best sporting regards,” the letter outlined a choice for the athlete: Open herself up to a panel of medical experts who could recommend surgery or chemical treatment to reduce her testosterone levels, or stop competing.
She had fallen foul of the International Association of Athletics Federations’ rules aimed at providing a fair playing field for women by keeping out athletes with high testosterone, a naturally occurring strength-building hormone.
The AP will not name the athlete, the country she is competing for or give details, including racing achievements, that could help identify her. In messages with the AP, she said she is focusing on competition and that her story is “personal and private.”
The IAAF’s medical director at the time explained that blood and urine tests detected testosterone levels that were “abnormally high” for a woman. The suspected cause, wrote Dr. Gabriel Dolle, wasn’t doping but another hot-button issue in athletics that is likely to flare in this final week of the Rio de Janeiro Olympics: hyperandrogenism.
Had the athlete not been a runner, she might never have known of her condition. It was flagged by the IAAF’s tests that look for banned drugs. She was stunned and uncomprehending when told that her testosterone pointed to hyperandrogenism, her then-coach told The Associated Press.
“She couldn’t understand. It was shock,” the coach said. “I said, ‘You’re not alone. There are others.’“
