At The Olympics, Who Gets To Compete As A Woman?
The Lead
Wondery
3.9 • 2.2K Ratings
🗓️ 30 July 2021
⏱️ 25 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
New Zealand weightlifter Laurel Hubbard became the first openly trans athlete to qualify for the Olympics earlier this year, and is considered one of the favorites to win a medal in her competition next week. Meanwhile, the South African runner (and two-time gold medalist) Caster Semenya is not competing in the Olympics at all this year, because of a recent ruling by the Court of Arbitration for Sport. So why is one of these athletes allowed to compete while the other is not? And what does that tell us about how the IOC determines sex? Madeleine Pape, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Lausanne (and an ex-Olympian who competed against Caster Semenya in the 800-meter) joins us to explain.
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Transcript
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| 0:07.0 | Hi there, Wondry listeners. Hannah and Sruti here from TrueCram Podcast Redhanded. |
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| 0:40.0 | Go listen to Redhanded right now on Amazon Music or wherever you get your podcasts. |
| 0:46.0 | For decades, the organizers of the Olympics have struggled to answer a basic question, |
| 0:58.0 | who should be allowed to compete as a woman? And in the build up to this year's Olympics, |
| 1:03.0 | that question has again been pushed into the spotlight. |
| 1:08.0 | New Zealand has chosen the first transgender athlete to compete at its Olympic Games. |
| 1:13.0 | Oral Hubbard is a female weightlifter who will be in Tokyo next month. |
| 1:17.0 | Critics say it's unfair for an athlete who used to compete with men to participate in women's sports. |
| 1:24.0 | There is a growing backlash over a landmark ruling against Olympic gold medalist, Kaster Semenya. |
| 1:30.0 | The sport's world's highest court ruled yesterday that Semenya must take medication |
| 1:35.0 | to reduce her unusually high testosterone level if she wants to compete. |
| 1:40.0 | Today, the stories of two athletes, New Zealand weightlifter Laurel Hubbard and South African runner Kaster Semenya, |
| 1:46.0 | and why one will be competing in Tokyo while the other will not. |
| 1:50.0 | Plus, how a former rival of Semenya went from being a critic of her to a supporter. |
| 1:56.0 | From Wondering in the Athletic, I'm under Skelto. It's Friday, July 30th, and this is The Lead. |
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