Diversity Olympics pushed to the limit

The Olympic Games in Paris are atypical in many ways. The opening ceremony sent a strong signal in a way that isn't necessarily sports-related, and along those lines, surprising things can be discovered. In Paris, a breach was opened, related to the participation of "trans" athletes, which a part of the sports world considers a mistake, because it can unbalance the competitions.

There are 191 athletes who publicly identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, queer and nonbinary entered in the Paris competition, according to a count by Outsports (a sports news site covering LGBT issues and personalities in sports amateur and professional), cited by the Associated Press. This is a record, at least one of those who assume certain guidelines, which was harder to do in the 70s and 90s. Outsports noted that the old record of 186 LGBT+ athletes at the Tokyo Olympics has fallen and estimates that the number of those in these categories is likely to increase in the following editions. "More and more people are coming out," said Jim Buzinski, Outsports co-founder. "They realize that it is important to be visible because otherwise they have no chance of being represented". AP writes that the number of those who want to be perceived as LGBT+ Olympians has increased a lot in recent decades. Buzinski says that when Outsports started counting athletes at Sydney 2000, the result was five people. The organizers chose diversity and inclusion as major themes of the event, co-opting transvestites and refugee athletes in the opening ceremony. "In our Olympic world there is room for everyone," said Thomas Bach, president of the International Olympic Committee, in his speech at the opening ceremony. "Coming to Paris, coming to France, they can finally be themselves," said Jeremy Goupille, co-president of Pride House at the Paris Games.

If there are no major discussions until now, even if not everyone agrees with this parade of diversity, there is a topic in which some of the specialists also claim that it is a problem: transsexual athletes entering female competitions. The subject is delicate and few want to talk about it at the moment. The problem that arises is that of inequality in terms of strength and endurance. A first signal was given before the Olympic Games. Lia Thomas, the first transgender athlete to win an NCAA collegiate title in March 2022, was denied the right to participate in the Paris Olympics. Lia Thomas has lost her appeal against the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Switzerland, the world's highest court in matters of sports equity, in which she demanded the annulment of the World Aquatics rules, which prevent transsexual women from competing in the female divisions, The Guardian reports. In June 2022, World Aquatics, which sets the rules for elite competitions, including the Olympics, introduced a new gender policy that allows transgender women to compete in female events only if they transitioned before the age of 12 years or before one of the first stages of puberty. Instead, Lin Yu-ting (28) and Imane Khelif (25), transsexual boxers, received the green light to participate in the Olympics. Last year, the two were disqualified from the World Boxing Championships, after they failed an eligibility test, having too high a testosterone level. The International Olympic Committee decided to allow the boxers to participate in the competition in France. It remains to be seen whether the decision was a fair one for everyone.