This is Tupou Neiufu. She is a NZ paralympic swimmer. At two years old, she was injured in a hit a run, and left with a permanent brain injury causing hemiplegia.
She won her first Olympic gold medal at Tokyo 2020.
This is Lisa Adams. She is a NZ paralympic shotputter. She has left hemiplegia.
In 2020, she won her first Olympic gold medal and, in separate competition, set the world record for her event.
This is Sophie Pascoe. She is a NZ paralympic swimmer. At 2 yrs old, she suffered severe leg injuries, resulting in left amputation below the knee, in an accident.
She did not win her first gold medal at Tokyo 2020.
She joined an elite club of 40 athletes with 10 Olympic golds.
This is Anna Grimaldi. She is a NZ paralympic sprinter and longjumper. She was born without a functional right forearm/hand.
She jumped her way to her second Olympic gold at Tokyo 2020.
This is Holly Robinson. She is a NZ paralympic javelin thrower. She was born without a left forearm/hand.
She won her first Olympic gold at Tokyo 2020.
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This is what a mediocre male kick-boxer can do to an elite female kick-boxer.
You have a special duty, more than most other governing bodies, to protect your female athletes, as far as is possible within the spirit of the sport, from harm.
Those interviewees who supported inclusion of transgender people, often without any restriction or requirement, made very cogent arguments as to why others were wrong and that over time, they would be shown to have been on “wrong side of history”.
It was suggested that those transgender individuals who wanted to participate in sport were looking to feel part of something: They had often endured a difficult adolescence but perhaps sport was a significant part in their previous life, and they were reluctant to lose this.
‘Case-by-case’ assessment is unlikely to be practical nor verifiable for entry into gender [sex] affected sports.
NGBs [national governing bodies] may wish to consider the following when determining the appropriateness of this:
> It has not been scientifically validated as to whether any parameters of physical capacity or ability can be defined with a certain cut-off point at which someone is considered appropriately ‘female’ or appropriately ‘male’.
The cervix is a region of the uterus. It has a unique cellular and tissue composition, mirroring its unique functions within the female sexual and reproductive cycle.
Here is a helpful diagram.
I have written about its development, structure and function here.