@Helleofabore
*A difference between an intensely trained athlete at the peak of their performance with little scope of further improvement vs a mediocre athlete with a great deal of scope to improve performance who transitions and then trains to reverse the effect of reduction of testosterone…
I wonder just what physiological difference that would be?*
That would be a difference of degree, not a fundamental difference!
If a man who is a mediocre athlete reduces his testosterone and increases his training in order to regain his previous performance level, all he has done is demonstrate that he had not previously reached his full potential as he had been training sub-optimally.
I had previously thought you were implying something different by saying "changing their training" - I thought you meant different training methods would become effective as a result of reducing testosterone.
I don't think the possibility of regaining a previous performance level by increasing training is particular relevant. Athletes will generally do the amount of training appropriate for their lifestyle. Consider the examples of athletes obtaining sports scholarships in the USA. They will typically be training less than professional athletes as they have other responsibilities. A TW may be able to increase training to regain his previous level. By the same token, maybe the girls in competition with the TW could increase their training to beat the TW. But either the TW or the girls might not find the required increase in training volume feasible (it may lead to injury, or it may compromise their studies).
What is the solution you propose?
I don't think there is much to say about contact sports. I think the common sense solution is to impose bans where there is likelihood or significant risk of serious injury. Individuals could be allowed to make their own choices, but I think that would be problematic in a lot of cases (e.g. not having the information and not knowing in advance who the competitors would be).
There are a lot of options for non-contact sports. Of course bans could be implemented here for many sports as well, on the grounds of fairness. There are some where complete bans definitely wouldn't be required. For example, in road races men and women tend to run together (only a few big city marathons tend to have separate starts for elite men and elite women). The only question is how prize categories are determined. And open track races are often graded (e.g. you state your personal best and/or recent and expected form and are put in an appropriate paced race - it is common for men and women of a variety of ages to run together - the objective is to run as fast as possible rather than necessarily win, so it would make no difference if a woman lost to a man or a TW). The remaining question in athletics is what should happen in championships and team competitions.
Maybe they should be banned from female team competitions.
I think perhaps this is more contentious in the USA, because athletics is so much more team focused over there. In the USA you compete for your school or college, whereas in the UK you compete for your club. A girl in a US high school trains with the other girls on the her high school team (and similarly at the college level) - they probably all shower and change together after training at school and they are seeking college scholarships, so I can see how these have been problematic. A girl in a club at the UK will typically train with a group appropriate to her ability, which usually includes a mix of males and females and at the end of the session everyone goes home and showers and changes. She will typically compete for the club team and in open competitions, but it's up to her. If she isn't picked for the team she can always compete in opens, or switch to another club. If she is very good, this may be a factor in which universities she applies to, but there isn't the same system of scholarships or university competitions. It's still all very individual focused, so the capacity for anyone to be unfairly deprived of opportunities does seem to be reduced.