[quote OatSprout]It’s not exactly crystal clear why though is it. Is it inferring that EB’s testosterone levels haven’t been lowered for long enough? Or is it something new? Spectacularly unhelpful from the BBC as usual on trans issues.
The Times has it but behind a paywall www.thetimes.co.uk/article/trans-cyclist-emily-bridges-barred-from-competition-by-uci-h2nv06f6w[/quote]
Article despite the headline being about Bridges is almost entirely about Lia Thomas. I think they don't know much beyond the initial British Cycling statement.
There is a lot of stuff in the article about new proposed rules from Fina - the swimming governing body (UK or US I'm not sure?)
Fina, the swimming governing body, is set to vote on a new policy in June and a source close to those devising the rules told The Times that under the proposed regulations Thomas — who won the 500 yards event at the NCAA championship — “would not have been able to compete with women . . . and the female category will be protected from athletes who have male advantages from male puberty and development”.
Brent Nowicki, the former counsel for the World Anti-Doping Agency and now the executive director of Fina, told The Times that Fina wanted to set “an industry standard” for all sports. Senior sources emphasised that the intention is not to exclude a swimmer such as Lia Thomas from the sport but to “make sure that elite athletes with male advantage do not get to compete in the female category”
The proposed policy will insist that trans-women undergo at least 36 months of testosterone reduction therapy, rather than a year, which is the present precedent. Testosterone levels will also be only one measure of physical advantage, with the rules designed to ensure “prior physical development of the athlete as a male, as mitigated by any medical intervention, does not impact fair play in the female category”. Elite status is likely to start from the age of 12, about the time of puberty.