[dspillett]

This is one of the areas where the system is heavily weighted against some female athletes. Phelps has a genetic thing that means his blood is more efficient at carrying oxygen and he is called lucky and lauded for his (still impressive) efforts anyway. A woman who naturally produces more testosterone than the normal range is either not permitted to compete or has to be "drugged down" to do so.

[ponsin]

source? I don't recall any sports that limit the amount of testosterone women can have. By women I mean people with XX chromosomes.

[beefalo]

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/01/sports/caster-semenya-los...

[jaytaylor]

Paywall bypass: http://archive.is/oEC0q

[dragonwriter]

Track & field (governed the IAAF):

https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2018/04/26/606039409...

And this has, in fact, affected actual (not merely theoretical) XX females:

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/01/sports/caster-semenya-los...

[username90]

Caster Semenya is an XY female, she wasn't lucky she just got male genes.

[ponsin]

wow, that's crazy