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Human rights group calls for end to sex testing of female athletes in track and field

A decades-long conversation about high testosterone levels in women’s sports took another turn Friday when Human Rights Watch called on international track and field’s governing body to stop sex testing female athletes, saying the practice is discriminatory and racially biased.

But a spokesperson for World Athletics, the sport’s international federation, said testing is necessary to preserve “fair and meaningful competition” in women’s sports.

The conversation on this contentious topic, which encompasses both the right to participate and the need to protect women’s sports, continues to center around South Africa’s Caster Semenya. She is the two-time Olympic gold medalist in the women’s 800 meters who has a rare genetic condition that significantly elevates her testosterone levels.