Blog dedicated to the education of athletes, coaches and sports scientists in the pursuit of higher level of knowledge. Array of topics that all apply to an array of sports in their rehab, prehab, nutrition, peaking, competitions, psychology, sports science and S&C.
Cerebral
palsy (CP) encompasses a heterogeneous group of early-onset, non-progressive,
neuro-motor disorders, which affect the frontal lobe of the brain; this
therefore affects motor control and verbal reasoning capacity (Villamor, et al., 2017). CP develops in the fetal
or infant brain (Oskoui, et al.,
2013). There has been much research into the physiotherapy side of
rehabilitating a person with CP for a more active daily lifestyle. However,
there has been a minimal, amount of research conducted into strength and
conditioning for a CP from a sporting performance point of view. From the
author experience CP athlete are trained from a physiotherapist prospective not
from an athletic strength and conditioning outlook.
Cerebral palsy (CP) has been
classified as a lesion in the brain that develops either in ultero or soon
after, which disrupts normal brain development. It also effects the motor
pathway, which in turn effects movement (Miller and Browne, 2007). CP affects
people in many different ways. There are many classifications of CP these
classifications are; Quadriplegia, which effects four limbs and Diplegia, which
effects two limbs (Cerebral palsy alliance, 2015). There are sub classification
of CP and these are Spastic, Dyskentic, Ataxic and a mixed type. The most
common form of CP is spastic it has been diagnosed in 80% of children in
Australia, (Cerebral palsy alliance, 2015).
Since
the development and marketing of the Paralympics there has been a peak interest
in special population athletes, (Goggin and Hutchins, 2017). For example, Wheelchair
basketball is a multi-faceted sport, which requires a wide range of physical
attributes; these include power, strength, agility (Jarvis, 2010). The match consists
of five players a side, playing four ten minutes’ quarter. According to Molik,
et al., (2010), wheelchair basketball combines repeated short intense exercise
bouts that include rapid acceleration, deceleration and quick sharp postural
change.It has been suggested that the
crucial part of conditioning a wheelchair basketball player (WCBP) is injury
prevention (Jarvis, 2010). According to the GB wheelchair basketball
association, (GBWB, 2009) WCBP are susceptible to overuse injuries in the
shoulder and movement dysfunction, to counter this GBWB, (2009), have suggested
that the three main areas of concern for a S&C coaches program is
corrective exercise, movement quality based warm-ups and training load
monitoring. Corrective exercise is the correction of muscle imbalance, postural
issues and correction of any abnormal movement patterns (NSAM, 2016). Training
load monitoring can help reduce injuries according to Gabbett, (2014). This essay
is going to be looking at the research behind S&C for wheelchair basketball
player with cerebral palsy.
Before we do, if you are working with or know someone with CP and they want to get into sport/activity. Best to contact the Cerebral Palsy Sport for England and Wales on guidance and information surrounding best practice.
As
stated in the introduction wheelchair basketball is a game that requires great
physical ability, (Jarvis, 2010). A player will cover approximately 5km in a
40-minute timeframe (Goosey, 2010). There is a lack of research into the
physical needs for playing wheelchair basketball. It has been hypothesis
that strength training is vital for improvement of cerebral palsy, (Dodd, et al., 2003). A study that used
strength training was found to improve the player posture in significant way
and enhanced the player gait. Inversely, Blundell, et al., (2003), has suggested that when training a spastic cerebral
palsy subject, it should be noted that strength training might have an adverse
effect on the CP body physiological response, the study hypothesis that this
could be due to the brain having to create new neural pathways to account for
an increase in neuromuscular activity.
It has been publicising that CP subjects have smaller muscle mass, the
majority of these muscle is predominantly type 1 fibre (Slow-twitch), which
fire at a decreased rate compared to fast twitch fibres, (Dodds, et al., 2003; Balesman, et al., 2012 and Ciciliot, et al., 2013). Type 1-muscle fibres are
mostly used during continuous muscular or aerobic exercises (ACSM, 2013).
Therefore, is strength training accurate for training CP athletes or should a
more endurance-based programme be implemented. However, Ciciliot, et al., (2013), states that the best
conditioning exercise to train type 1 fibres is muscular endurance training
sessions, which contradicts what Dodds, et
al., (2003) suggest and supports the theory of training for endurance
rather than strength training. Furthermore, it has been established that,
smaller muscle mass will mean a lower oxygen extraction and a decrease in the
peak oxygen uptake this could lower aerobic fitness in CP athletes and could
possible affect the nutrients supply to the muscle and could further hinder the
development of muscles mass in the athlete, (Ciciliot, et al., 2013).
According to
Francis, et al., (2011), this could indicate
why CP subjects fatigue more rapidly than non-disability athletes do. This
could possibly be due to the smaller muscle mass, this is because the body will
be unable to store muscle glycogen for convention into energy (ATP), and thus, the subject may possibly have less energy during
because of the inability to rapidly replace their body muscles glycogen usage.
In addition, Schweitzer, et al.,
(2017), propose that the higher the ability to convert Glycogen storage into
energy has an impact in quality of life.
Athletes with
CP have shown a higher hypertonicity of the muscle, which can cause neural and
mechanical problems with the athlete, (Drobyshevsky, and Quinlan, 2017); this therefore, reduced the
muscle length. Theoretically, this could be delayed with stretching although
this method need more in-depth investigation, (Guissard and Duchateau, 2006).
Although, according to Chaudry and Anderson, (2017), CP muscle may decrease
tonic reflex activity or increase the threshold of the tonic stretch reflex,
allowing an increase in joint range of motion (ROMs).
Theis, et al., (2013) assumption is that in a spastic muscle,
the increased gain or possible the lower threshold of the stretch reflex may
cause the muscle to be activated even during low levels of stretching. However,
hypertonic muscle may be exaggerated due to a greater abundance of connective
tissue in the muscle. It has been recommended that using passive stretching
of the posterior muscular kinetic chain to manipulate the postural control of
the athlete, (Novak, et al., 2013).
However, the investigation did not state which stretches were used, also, if it
would be suitable for athletes with CP. Nevertheless, Wiart, et al., (2008), argues that flexibility
could have an adverse effect on the body because of the neuromuscular activity.
However, this study did not show a statically value and it can only be used as
a guideline for coaches. It has been proven that there is conflicting evidence
weather the use of stretching can increase range of motion in athletes with CP,
however, it has also been stated that stretch could decrease the spasticity in
muscle of a CP athlete, (Pin, et al.,
2006).
Verschuren and Takken, (2010), found that testing the aerobic capacity of athletes with CP could be
useful to provide an accurate measurement of aerobic capacity in the athlete;
it can also be used to see if there is any change in the condition of the patient
and for monitoring the rehabilitation. However,
there is limited evidence about the effects of aerobic endurance
training in athletes with CP. The evidence suggest that training aerobic system
will increase aerobic fitness (Molik, et
al., 2010). There is evidences to suggest that there is a correlation
between aerobic capacity and improvement in quality of life (WHO, 1995). Nevertheless, to dispute the information above Nsenga, et al., (2013) indicates aerobic
training for athletes with CP will increase the subject’s quality of life, as
it will give the subjects the ability to produce and store more ATP. Therefore,
more energy capacity will mean a more improved quality of life; the increased
energy storage will mean it will help the training for hypertrophy, which will
develop muscle.
A meta-analysis into aerobic endurance training and the effects it has
on improving the quality of life for people with CP, found that training aerobic endurance will improve
fitness, although, there was no evidence for that an improve aerobic system
will improve the quality of life for an athlete with CP, (Butler, et al.,
2010). Although this is stated, there was a statistical
heterogeneity, which could make the conclusion invalid and unreliable.
Furthermore, the studies used in the meta-analysis all have different
interventions, testing protocols this will mean a unreliable validity as there
are different method, thus, an misinterpretation of the results.
Repetitive locomotors training has been hypnotized to improve the gait
of people with cerebral palsy. The study found that after a thirty-minute
session there was an improvement in the 10-meter walk test, especially with hip
kinematics, (Smania, et al., 2011).
Although, there was not a significant correlation for the results to be valid,
the investigation can supposition that the validity of the ten meter walk test
is questionable due to the fact that CP athletes all have different severity of
spasticity.
For able body basketball players, it has been
suggested that the athlete completes a series of strength, aerobic, speed and
agility physical testing. However, the GBWCA, (2009) has put together a series
of physical test for WC basketball players to complete; the strength test
consists of 3RM Dips, Bench press, 1RM bench press, 5RM bench pull and the
bleep test. However, is the bleep test accurate to the physiological
requirements for a WC basketball player? Would upper body testing be more
accurate to the response for WC basketball?
It has been hypotheses that training one
muscle group will force the body into a dysfunctional postural alignment and
that exercising the lengthen muscle to corrective this will work as long the
shorten (dysfunctional muscle) is stretched. One possible way to this is by after a
resistance training session the athlete partakes in a sport massage, where it
has been suggested that sport massages will aid recovery and can possibly
lengthen short muscles, (Weerapong, 2005).
GBWCA, (2009) has suggested that the
corrective exercise program includes;
·Shoulder mobility (through extension)
·Thoracic mobility (exercise and rotation)
·Rotator cuff strengthening
·Scapula stability
·Shoulder proprioception
Interestingly, the most common suggestion on how
to train a CP athlete is to design a strength training program, it has been
suggested that strength training is vital for the postural improvement in CP athletes
(Dodd, et al., 2003). Although, some
up to date research conducted by Sa-Cauputo,
et al., (2015), has identified the use of whole body vibration exercise in
treatment of CP, the study found that there is a lack of evidence to suggest
this works and therefore, should be furthered research. However, the review did
indicate that whole body vibrating exercise increased the subjects muscle gains
and helped to optimized balance and postural control. The ACSM, (2015) and the
NSCA, (2015), have both produced a training sets and repetitions template, and
have suggested that a CP athlete should be doing 2-4 sets, 10-12 repetitions at
60-80% weight of the client’s 1RM test, and are advised to train two to three
times a week, with each periodization lasting 6-12 weeks. However, CP athletes
may have issues with neuromuscular control and stability and this amount of
exercise load my not be affected until control is established.
Interestingly,
CP athletes have been proven to have a smaller muscle mass this could possible
indicate why CP athletes may muscular fatigue more rapidly, this is due to the
body ability to store muscle glycogen to re synthesis into ATP (Francis, et al., 2011). Furthermore, this could
be a possible reason why training CP athletes Strength training could be
impractical before the athlete’s ability to control the required movement.
Furthermore, according to Balesman, et
al., (2012) CP athletes have smaller muscle mass and the muscle fibre are
mostly type 1 fibres. Type 1 fibres are used for continues exercise (ACSM,
2012). It has been hypotheses that the best way to train type 1 muscle fibres
is through muscular endurance training (Ciciliot, et al., 2013). So, is endurance training rather than strength
training best for improving physical performance for a CP athlete?
Although
most studies focus on strength training for CP subjects (Balseman, et al., 2012), there are studies that
focus on the benefits of aerobic capacity (Cicilot, et al., 2013), however, it is not widely focused on and the
majority of the research is focused on the ability to performed daily life
activity. However, aerobic fitness if vital for daily living as the player is
required to performed aerobic endurance activities every day. With wheelchair
basketball, it is vital the player has explosive power in the upper body to
propel the athlete quickly around the court (Jarvis, 2010).
Some
exercise that can be used for un-disability basketball players cannot be used
for CP wheelchair basketball player’s (British wheelchair basketball, 2010). It
has been hypothesis that overhead wheelchair basketball players should not use
press as an exercise to build shoulder, this is due to the increase chance of
impingement syndrome in the shoulder, (Jarvis, 2010). However, if the player’s
biomechanics of the shoulder griddle and the posture is not effected then there
is no research to state that they should not do shoulder press exercise.
Jarvis, (2010) has identified many none effective exercise, however, when
dealing with a CP athlete all exercise is vital because the coach is not just
training them for the sport but, they have to take into account his daily
living activities and prepare them for that (SAQ, 2016).
To conclude all the information above,
although there has been a significant amount of research conducted in to
Cerebral palsy, it can be said that there is not significant evidence on what
effects endurance training will have on the player. However, this mini essay
has highlighted that even though strength training has been proven to improve
quality of life (Sa-Caputo, et al.,
2016), it still is unclear on the long-term effects of strength training. This
essay has suggested that certain exercise should not be carried out in a
program for WCBP with CP (Jarvis, 2010). In addition, there has been in-depth
research into wheelchair basketball teams have been conducted over the years;
however, like all sports there is still speculation on how to train that
athlete to enhance performance (SAQ, 2016). Furthermore, it can be suggested
that although there has been recent interest in Paralympics sport, there is yet
to be a study that is conducted for the sole purpose of cerebral palsy athletes
(Goggin, and Huntchin, 2017). The literacy review has highlighted that strength
training is the overall method to use in order to improve gait, daily living
wellbeing and hypothetically performance. Although, there is lack of evidence
to suggest that endurance training may possibly be a more optimal training
guide.
Thank you Alan for a very detailed and informative post!
If you wish to reach out to Alan his contact details are;
Andrew Richardson, Founder of Strength is Never a Weakness Blog
I have a BSc (Hons) in Applied Sport Science and a Merit in my MSc in Sport and Exercise Science and I passed my PGCE at Teesside University.
Now I will be commencing my PhD into "Investigating Sedentary Lifestyles of the Tees Valley" this October 2019.
I am employed by Teesside University Sport and WellBeing Department as a PT/Fitness Instructor.
My long term goal is to become a Sport Science and/or Sport and Exercise Lecturer. I am also keen to contribute to academia via continued research in a quest for new knowledge.
My passion is for Sport Science which has led to additional interests incorporating Sports Psychology, Body Dysmorphia, AAS, Doping and Strength and Conditioning.
Within these respective fields, I have a passion for Strength Training, Fitness Testing, Periodisation and Tapering.
I write for numerous websites across the UK and Ireland including my own blog Strength is Never a Weakness.
I had my own business for providing training plans for teams and athletes.
I was one of the Irish National Coaches for Powerlifting, and have attained two 3rd places at the first World University Championships,
in Belarus in July 2016.Feel free to email me or call me as I am always looking for the next challenge.
This is currently one of my favorite things to talk about right now. I am referring to the issue of hyperandrogenism in female athletes. The article will be discussing the ins and outs of hyperandrogenism, touching upon testosterone, estrogen, doping, World Anti Doping Agency (WADA) and anti - doping laws. Finally looking at the International Olympic Committee (IOC) stance. The International Association of Athletic Federations (IAAF) position and notable athletes, coaches and sport scientist positions on the matter of hyperandrogenism at hand.
The aim of this article would give a non biased stance on the current issue and help you (the reader) make a informed decision.
I have gathered as much information as I could find on this topic to ensure both sides of the topic are covered. All information is up to date
This will be one of the longest if not the longest article I have ever written. This is due to;
Mainstream media writing for sensation not for facts
- The lack of scientific knowledge and evidence
- No unbiased reports or reviews on the topic thus far
If you want to learn more about Caster Semenya and her athletic journey to this point in time. Then follow the video link here;
Too Fast to Be a Woman The Story of Caster Semenya
This video is 45 minutes long so you want to watch it after you read the article.
Set aside 20 minutes to read the article properly (not including the videos attached. Please watch some of them after reading this to further expand your knowledge)
**Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for 'fair use' for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use**
Pre Caster Semenya and Screening Genders in Sport (This first section until the start of Hyperandrogenism, is written in reference to the book Bioethics, Genetics and Sport Chapter 8, (8.1 - 8.2) by Silvia Camporesi and Mike McNamee (2018))
Right now in the sporting world, in particular the sport of athletics. There has been a lot of focus on one athlete and her natural physiology. This is referring to Caster Semenya of South Africa, the middle and long distance runner who has got Hyperandrogenism. Caster has been in the spotlight before for her notable success in the 800m and 1500m (Appendix 1.0) across national, World, Commonwealth and Olympic Championships over the last few years. Semenya's case triggered the initial drafting of the IAAF regulations and policy on the eligibility of female athletes with hyperandrogenism to compete in the female category (hence Hyperandrogenism Regulations).
Yet despite passing drug tests, never cheating and never doping, some have said she has been unfairly targeted by the media for many things. These include, her muscular figure, deep voice and accusations to if she was even a female at all but a man. She was even screened to see if she was actually a man which is embarrassing for Caster but from a organisation point of view (IAAF) it may be considered questionable that they would even need to do such tests.
Such tests included a sex verification tests which is described as "Sex verification in sports (also known as gender verification, or loosely as gender determination or a sex test) is the issue of verifying the eligibility of an athlete to compete in a sporting event that is limited to a single sex" (Wiki, 2018). The earliest known case is that of Stanisława Walasiewicz (aka Stella Walsh), a Polish athlete who won a gold medal in the women's 100 m at the 1932 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, but who after her death in 1980 was discovered to have had partially developed male genitalia (Wiki, 2018). These tests come in the form of; physical examinations, chromosome testing and hormone testing.
Caster is at the end of a long line of women athletes who have faced disgraceful individuals and sporting bodies in the past. Some examples include;
1936, President of the IOC stated that "all women athletes entered into the Olympics be subjected to a thorough physical examination to make sure they were really 100% female" (Ibid., 106).
1972, Mary Peters competed for Great Britain and Northern Ireland wining gold in the women's pentathlon. Despite this amazing feat she has extensively written about a manual internal gynecological examination that was tantamount to groping (Ibid).
Chromosome testing was introduced by the IAAF in 1967 to prevent incidents like the aforementioned never happening again. This didn't stop members of sporting organisations from making future mistakes. To help prove the gender of an athlete, one is required to bring their birth certificate to events at the request of the organizers of the event. Spanish athlete Martinez - Patino forget her birth certificate at the 1985 World University Games in Jobe (Japan). Only to be tested anew with a further test and be disqualified from the competition (Martinez - Patino, 2005).
As time went on there became an increasing need for some form of discriminatory process among participants who happen to blue the line of male/female stereotypes. This process became known as "gender verification" (Skirstad, 2000). This may seem ironic as some will argue gender doesn't exist (especially as this is 2018 and many people are identifying as trans gender or non binary). Daniels (1992) states "gender is a social construct and biological test can verify that". Schultz (2012) states "gender verification has focused on the Three G's; Genitals, Gonads and Genetic Material).
Gender testing was removed by the IAAF in 1991 and 1999 by the IOC (Elsas et al, 2000). Hence when Caster came about in 2009, the IAAF had no guidelines regulating "gender" testing. Heggie (2010, 7) reported that the IAAF argued that "gender testing was no longer needed in their sport due to the modern sportswear was so revealing that it seemed unfeasible that a man could masquerade as a women". Caster's case triggered the IAAF in coordination with the IOC to revisit the guidelines for "when a woman should be allowed to compete as a women". Although neither the IAAF nor the IOC mention a relation between Caster and the regulations, this is quite apparent as you will see when you continue reading this article from the extensive literature written on the subject (Cookey et al. 2013,; Montanola and Olivesi, 2016; Schultz 2012; Teetzel 2014). .
I am not going to argue my personal opinion on gender nor dictate what it is for you to read. However, from my scientific background and education I have learned and worked with the understanding of Male is XY and Female is XX pair of chromosomes (Yang et al, 2010). This is how the significant majority of papers, biology textbooks and scientific literature has been dispensed. For the context of this article we will be sticking with this.
This second section is written in reference to the book Bioethics, Genetics and Sport Chapter 8, (8.3 - 8.4) by Silvia Camporesi and Mike McNamee (2018))
Definition from Wikipedia states, "Hyperandrogenism, also known as androgen excess, is a medical condition characterized by excessive levels of androgens (male sex hormones such as testosterone) in the female body and the associated effects of the elevated androgen levels. It is an endocrinological disorder similar to hyperestrogenism". Hyperestrogenism can be defined as "Hyperestrogenism, hyperestrogenic state, or estrogen excess, is a medical condition characterized by an excessive amount of estrogenic activity in the body" (Lavin, 2009).
Less common causes of hyperandorgenism can be ovarian tumors or tumors of adrenal glands (Sirmans and Pate 2014; Housman and Reynolds 2014). it is important to note that hyperandrogenism does not pose an immediate threat to the health of the person affected. It's is generally not medicated except in very severe cases, to prevent the insurance of co-morbidities.
Hyperandrogenism can be caused by external factors and or natural causes. These include the following;
Polycystic ovary syndrome
Probably the most common cause of hyperandrogenism which is an endocrine condition affecting up to 15-20% of women of reproductive age, where ovaries contain multiple follicles which lead to irregular menstrual periods and can lead to excess acne, excess hair and in more severe cases to a number of co-morbidities including metabolic syndrome, hypertension, dyslipidemia, glucose intolerance and diabetes.
(Franks, 1995)
(Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS), 2016)
(Defining PCOS, 2016)
(Hammond and Bocchinfuso, 1996)
(Irina, Zieve and Ogilvie, 2016)
Hyperthecosis and hyperinsulinemia
(Pasquali, Renato, 2011)
(Atmaca, 2014)
(Barbieri, Hornstein. "Hyperinsulinemia and Ovarian Hyperandrogenism. Cause and Effect". Endocrinology and Metabolism Clinics of North America. 17.4: 685–703. No date given)
You cannot Police Natural Selection and Ability in Sport
In this part of the article we will discuss how the IAAF's ruling is simply silly and a huge mistake waiting to happen. Before continuing on we will define a few terms to make the reading flow better;
1. Doping can be defined as the use of a banned chemical compounds e.g. andorgenic anobloic steorids (AAS) or techniques (e.g. blood doping) to improve sports performance. The substances and practices are called doping agents or just dope (Hackney, 2018). Anavar (Oxandrolone) is an androgen and anabolic steroid (AAS) medication which is used to help promote weight gain in various situations. It helps to offset protein catabolism caused by long-term corticosteroid therapy
(Llewellyn 2011).
2. In the foreword of "Doping, Performance - Enhancing Drugs, and Hormones in Sport" by Anthony Hackney (2018) he sums up the current situation with doping very well; "Doping in sport is nothing new - it has gone on since ancient times - and some athletes and always will stoop t any means to win. Regrettably, in modern times, it seems the prevalence of athletes doping is on the rise; but the financial rewards with winning are astronomical and provide the motivation and temptation for many athletes to dope. The rewards may be great but the payback can be deadly as the use of many contemporary performance - enhancing drugs can result in serious morbidities and premature morality" (Hackney , 2018).
In 2011 Hyperandrogenism Regulations require female athletes who do not fall within the limits of 100ng/dL2 (Nanograms per Decilitre) of testosterone to undergo androgen-suppression as females. In simple words; "If a female expresses a higher than "normal" testosterone value" through natural means and without the instance of doping through administration of oral or injectable androgenic anabolic steroids or testosterone variations. Then this is classed an excess of testosterone". This to me in my most professional opinion is;
If you can't work it out the gentleman is Ludacris the rapper from America. My shocked expression is reflecting the "Ludicrous" nature of the IAAF.
My jokes are bad
Continuing on,
I can only see this decsion made by the IAAF creating alot of issues and since 2011 it has. Paragaph 6.5 of the IAAF policies on eligibility of women with hyperandrogenism to compete in women's competition states;
"The Expert Medical Panel shall recommend that the athlete is eligible to compete in women's competition if;
1. she has androgen levels below the normal range; or
2. she has androgen levels within the normal male range but has an androgen resistance such that she derives no competitive advantage from having androgen levels in the normal male range"
This is ruling that caused South African representative (Law Professor Steve Cornelius), to leave the IAAF Disciplinary Tribunal in 2018. Below is the image of his letter to Lord Seb Coe regarding his departure
Figure 4.0 Law Professor Steve Cornelius written letter to IAAF
He also called the policy a "warped ideology". Since then (to this date), the IAAF has quite possibly the worlds most sophisticated guidelines to date (Montanola and Olivesi, 2016).
Link to these documents;
1st document covers the following (taken from IAAF website): Eligibility Regulations for Female Classification (Athlete with Differences of Sexual Development) for events from 400m to the mile, including 400m, hurdles races, 800m, 1500m, one mile races and combined events over the same distances (Restricted Events)
From Athletics Weekly (AW) the IAAF made a statement saying that these rules "are in no way intended as any kind pf judgement on or questioning of the sex or the gender identity of any athlete". The IAAF insists this is in the interest of fairness: "These regulations exist solely to ensure fair and meaningful competition within the female classification, for the benefit of the board class of female athletes. In no way are they intended as any kind of judgement on or questioning of the sex or the gender identity of any athlete. To the contrary, the IAAF regards it as an essential to respect and preserve the dignity and privacy of athletes with different sex development (DSD), and therefore it will continue to handle all cases arising under these regulations in strict confidence".
Anti - Doping Policy? Or being Forced to be Weaker
From my point of view is it not quite hypocritical of the IAAF to force athletes to take drugs so they can be slower/weaker than their natural best. Then lecture everyone that they can't dope but you can't be as good as you are naturally. Seems very strange and from a medical point of view would it not be advised to suppress an athletes natural hormonal balance to suit a narrow minded/weak argument. I am sure their would be medical complications for these athletes being forced to take hormone suppressing drugs to allow them to compete still if this came into affect.
If these rules are set in place then the likes of fellow athlete Lyndsey Sharp (British Runner) will be jumping with joy as in her own words "she hadn't a chance at victory" when competing against Caster due to her "apparent" biological superior advantage over everyone else. Even tho she only beats the competition by a few seconds. It's not as if it is 15/20 seconds more than her next opponent.
Paula Radcliffee added her comments to say "However hard she (Sharp) goes away and trains, she is never going to be able to compete with that level of strength and recovery that those levels of elevated testosterone bring. Lord Coe also added his comments in to say "the organisation (IAAF) would continue to fight for a ruling to force athletes with hyperandrogenism to take drugs or have surgery - and is confident of this succeeding".
It's funny when these athletes feel that their fellow countrymen and women can't win that they play the victim card but fail to realise that they compete for GB. One of the worlds best for athletics and athlete supports through coaching and sport science. Yet someone with natural talent and hard work from South Africa isn't allowed to win due to her more masculine appearances and slightly faster times.
This of course is just one way of looking at it.
World renowed Sport Scientist Ross Tucker reckons the effect of taking these estrogen drugs on Caster will slow her times down by and up to seven seconds. He told the Gurdian Newspaper "history suggests Semenya will lose about 4 seconds to 5 seconds. Because in 2013 and 2014, when the IAAF were diligent about ensuring her compliance with the upper limit at that time (10nM), she was running 2:00. I don't think she even qualified for the Commonwealth Games then. Now, at 5nM, the effect will be even larger, I suspect. She will go from a 1:54 to a 2:01 - 2:03 is my estimate".
From the website scientificamerican.com, they had an article looking at this topic and they had a great paragraph discussing testosterone; The official Olympic testosterone cutoff for females athletes is 10 nanomoles per litre, but some go beyond it, into the male range, and some men fall into the female range, thanks to normal hormonal fluctuations that differ from individuals to individual. Moreover, high T is not always synonymous with good performance. Some top level male athletes have testosterone levels that dip into the female range, e.g. : one recent study of 693 elite athletes in Clinical Endocrinology found that 16.5% of makes had testosterone levels that were below the male range and almost 2% fell in the female range. Also, almost 14% of women were above the permissible maximum for female athletes. The idea that a female competitor shouldn't compete as a female due to having naturally higher level of testosterone not through external or artificial means is wrong. Sport is for the best, the gifted, the talent, the biologically superior human beings. Athletes are the outliers in society and it is a form of artificial selection to pick athletes with better traits for certain sports. See David Epsteins work on the Sports Gene and the video attached below;
Are athletes really getting faster, better, stronger? | David Epstein
Spectators pay to see talent and those that have the predisposed characteristics which may make them better should be encouraged to compete. Even learning that if someone has a high level of testosterone it won't necessarily make them a better athlete adds more weight to let those with hyperandrogenism compete as their defined gender.
At the very core of the IAAF's argument is the notion that women's sport is "protected" (which after reading the above seems comical by now) and they state clearly that "the IAAF divides competition into male and female categories because male athletes have clear performance advantages in terms of size, strength and power. These advantages are mainly due to the fact that, starting from puberty, men produce 10-30 times more testosterone than women".
Then why has the IAAF just settled on the testosterone values of male and females as their "measure of performance ability"? Well one can hypothesise that with chromosome testing is so flawed and outdated and that the IAAF may be able to prove that by simply having more testosterone this some how makes an athlete better. If that was the case then why aren't all mid teenager boys Olympic champions with their high testosterone levels........
Exactly hahahahah
Caster against the Dopers
When looking at Caster and other athletes in a similar situation, they and her have never doped or conducted doping to better their performance. Focusing on Caster for the moment in her event the types of doping that may occur ranges from blood doping, injections of EPO and possible use of testosterone for recovery purposes between sessions to reduce recovery time. Take the women's 800m event for example. In 2012 at the London Olympic Games a Russian Athlete who beat Caster to a silver medal was caught doping using Oxandrolone (also known as Anavar) (Figure 3.0).
Figure 6.0 Chemical Formula of Oxandrolone
Credit: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxandrolone
The athlete in question doped and is called Maria Savinova (Figure 4.0). Her teammate (Ekaterina Poistogova) who got third in the same race is under investigation as well from doping too. Caster was then upgraded to gold medal position after confirming Maria had indeed doped.
Figure 7.0 Maria Savinova beating Caster Semenya to Gold at the London 2012 Games
So here we can see in the midst of Caster's scrutiny, in the 2012 Olympics just over a year after the IAAF ended their 11 month investigation into the sex/gender of Caster. This investigation started posit 2009 Berlin World IAAF Championships (August). Yet being beaten by someone who uses performance enhancing drugs (PEDs) she still is scrutinized over her appearance and athletic abilities. Which to me seems unfair and child like.
Figure 8.0 Caster's times since 2008 Below shows the tracking and progress of Caster's times since her debut at the Youth Commonwealth Games in 2008.
This section of the article has highlighted 6 relevant papers to for the reader to look in their own time. However, the main one under scrutiny is paper number 1. This one has attracted the most criticism and flak by fellow researchers, politicians and athletes. It is also worth noting that one of the authors (Dr Bermon) of this paper sits on the IOC Consensus meeting back in 2015 and on the medical board' board as well. How convenient that this happens to fit into their research and current position.
1. Serum Androgen Levels and their relation to performance in track and field: mass spectrometry results from 2127 observations in male and female elite athletes. By Stephane Bermon and Pierre-Yves Garnier 2017
As many of you already know, I love a good paper critique but too many people have beaten me to it. This is in no order but here are the top comments of the critique of Garnier and Bermon 2017 paper;
Andrew Gelman (Higgins Professor of Statistics at Colombia University" described the analysis as "such a mess that I can't really figure out what data they are working with, what exactly they are doing, or the connection between some of their analyses and their scientific goals".
Jamie Schultz whom is the Associate Professor of Kinesiology at Pennsylvania State University created the article titled "A Sexist Policy may end the career of one of the Commonwealths greatest female runners" on the website: "The Conversation" on April 8th 2018. She said, "Yet without explanation, the new guidelines omit both the pole vault and hammer throw, where high T women ostensibly enjoy the greatest advantage, and add the women's 1500m race, even tho it was not one of the events in which testosterone seemed to matter. The hormone, the study concluded, does not affect men "in any of the male athletic events".....
Franklin S, Ospina Betancurt J, Camporesi S. What Statistical data of observational performance can tell us and what they cannot: the case of Dutee Chand v AFI and IAAF. Br J Sports Med Published Online: First 23 February 2018. doi: 10.1136/bisports-2017-098513. This paper heavily criticises the original paper which concludes by saying; "we believe that it is scientifically incorrect to draw the conclusions in the Bermon and Garnier paper from the statistical results presented. Their paper claims that certain athletes have an advantage in precisely the five events where a significant effect was found: we calculate that a high share of those five significant effects are likey to be false positives".
Simon Franklin (a Post Doctoral at LSE) said "There are more than a few problems with the paper, not least the fact that it makes casual claims from correlations in a highly selective sample, and the bizarre choice of comparing averages within the highest and lowest tertiles of T levels using a student t-test (without any other statistical tests presented). But most problematic is the multiple hypothesis testing. The authors test for a correlation between ft- Levels and performance across a total of over 40 events (men and women) and find a significant correlation in 5 events, at the 5% level. They then conclude; These are 5 events for which they found significant correlations. And we are lead to believe that there is no such advantage for any of the other events. Female athletes with a high fT levels have a significant competitive advantage over those with low fT in 400m, 800m, 400m Hurdles, hammer throw and pole vault.
Professor Peter Sonksen of Endocrinology at the St. Thomas Hospiatal and King's College London and lead author in the same British Medical Journal denouncing the French IAAF study. Sonksen said the paper "be taken out of the hands of the IAAF and given to someone more honest like the International Olympic Committee". He also says "it's simple really, anyone born and reared as a girl/woman should be treated as a woman", he wrote to a WIRED in an email.
Professor Roger Pielke, Jr of the University of Colorado at Boulder. He made has made numerous posts and comments about this topic and has a paper which critically analysed the work of Garnier and Bermon. They are as follows;
Pielke Jr, R.(2017). Sugar, spice and everything nice: how to end "sex testing" in international athletics. International Journal of Sport Policy and Politics, 9:649-665. (PDF, free to read).
The paper has some significant methodological issues, most notably the inclusion of female athletes who doped with those with naturally high levels of T. There is some double counting of athletes in 2011 and 2013. There is also speculation that the male findings are contaminated by doping. Methodological issues notwithstanding, the paper nonetheless strongly reinforces the 2015 CAS Chand decision.
The IAAF data of Bermon and Garnier 2017 don't support the proposed regulations of testosterone in women at distances of 400m to one mile as shown from the graph below;
Professor Pielke, Jr continues; "These IAAF data (pink bar) indicates that over distances of 400m, 800m and 1500m high testosterone women are on average 1.1% faster than their low testosterone counterparts. Then looking at the data that IAAF collected for men at 400m and 1500m (blue bar). These data indicates that high T men are on average 1.1% faster than their low T counterparts. Surely if high T in women in selected events were performance differs is to be regulated, then high T in men in selected events where performance differs is also to be regulated as well?"
*academic mic drop*
As Professor Pielke Jr so rightly says "This is the very hallmark of sex discrimination and only scratches the surface of flawed T regulation".
On Tuesday the 5th of June Professor showcases the IAAF discussing and defending their justification for their new proposed rulings on his blog linked here: http://leastthing.blogspot.com/2018/06/iaaf-opens-up-on-testosterone-some.html. Here are some of the main highlights from that post;
There are two logical fallacies here that are worth discarding up front, one typically advanced by opponents to T regulations and one advanced by IAAF in support of T regulations. They are:
Fallacy #1: Governing bodies do not (generally) regulate other "natural advantages" so IAAF cannot regulate T.
Fallacy #2: Governing bodies do (sometimes) regulate other "natural advantages" so IAAF should regulate T.
The issue here is not going to be settled by invocation of general principles, but rather, the specific question of whether it is appropriate for IAAF to regulate women's athletics based on endogenous levels of T across four events. What a big picture view can tell us however is that biological regulation of athletes in the disciplines of athletics is incredibly unique, and T would be the only biological characteristic that is regulated in all of the Olympic sport of Athletics. This fact does not determine an outcome, but it should set a high bar for approving any such regulatory action.
The resulting research (much discussed on this blog) is Bermon and Garnier (2017). Not surprisingly, IAAF claims that its results support further regulation of testosterone. A close look doesn't really support this claim. The most striking conclusion of this paper -- taking it at face value -- is that the resulting statistics come no where close to the 10% difference in athletic performance cited by CAS as an appropriate basis for regulation. In fact, the paper found no performance difference worth regulating in 19 of 23 athletic events in which women compete. Think about that. After all of the talk of the overwhelming importance of testosterone to athletic performance, an internal IAAF study designed to look for such differences could not justify testosterone regulations for almost all women's events. Clearly, testosterone is not the magical athletic elixir claimed by some.
In Professors Pielke Jrs post, he is getting the answers from the IAAFs lawyer (or one of many I imagine) from a gentleman called Johnathan Taylor of Bird and Bird. This isn't to be confused with Teesside Universities own Johnathan Taylor and GB Endurance runner, Two very different Taylor's hahahha (as shown below). Mr Taylor sat on the IOC Consenus Meeting on Sex Reassignment and Hyperandrogenism in November 2015.
At this meeting it was agreed "To avoid discrimination, if not eligible for female competition the athlete should be eligible to compete in male competition".
Which to me means okay, a more "masculine" female by the IAAF definition of what a female is and isn't is allowed to compete against the men but isn't expected to win but she is allowed to compete so that is okay.......
Pathetic.
This isn't over yet more to follow. Just recently on the 12th of July this occurred.
Erik Boye (of Oslo University Hospital) made a statement about
A set of data normally follows publications like Bermon and Garnier (BG) 2017 paper. The conclusions are linked to the data and their interpretation and the data must be made available to the general public. That is basic in science. If now the authors have received some help to understand that their data are fraught with errors they should call for a retraction and resubmit a new paper with new data if they so wish. We have pointed out this to the IAAF and to the publisher. None of them appear to handle this well. It is unacceptable that the paper stands and that a few people are informed that there were serious errors attached to the data and that unseen changes have been made to the data set. Furthermore, there is no sign that the new set of data has been subjected to any more of a critical review or that it will be released for external scrutiny.For this reasons we should insist that scientific standards and rules are followed. In my practice at editorial boards (the EMBO and FEBS publications) I am certain that such a faulty data set would have released a demand for a retraction, with the possibility of a resubmittal.
Regarding the IAAF date for the 2017 paper, it has been requested by a number of fellow researchers. This is a normal and common thing in peer reviewed research to uphold standards of the field and ensure credibility. So far (to my knowledge) that it has been asked by Ross Tucker, Professor Pielke Jr and Erik Boye. Yet no one has received anything which means the IAAF are withholding the data which is very worrying (from an academic standpoint). Ross Tucker has commented on this by saying that "the concept of defending between men's and women's sports", the crux of the matter is transparency. "If research is done, and if that research is foundation to actions (in this case, a policy), hen the data must be made available on request, so that anyone can arrive at the same position and understand why something is being enforced. It is right to be transparent".
2. Natural Selection for Genetic Variants in Sport: The Role of Y Chromosome Genes in Elite Female Athletes with 46, XY DSD. By Malcom Ferguson-Smith and Dawn Bavington (2014).
3. Serum Androgen profile and physical performance in women Olympic Athletes. By Emma Eklund, Bo Berglund, Fernand Labrie, Kjell Carrlstrom, Lena Ekstrom and Angelica Linden Hirschberg (2017).
4. Review: Androgen's and Athletic Performance of Elite Female Athletes. By Stephane Bermon (2017).
5. Hyperandrogenic Athletes: performance differences in elite standard 200m and 800m finals. By Jonathan Betancurt, Maria Zakynthinaki, Maria Jose Martinez-Patino and Carlos Martienez (2018).
Intersex Sport
Dr Bermon (one of the co-authors of the research paper we so heavily criticized) has talked about intersex categories in sport becoming a real thing. He says "he is in favor of a third category for intersex athletes and that it could happen within 5 fives - although he admitted public opinion will have to shift first". However Mr Bermon said "my feeling is also public is not ready for this. We don't want to stigmatize athletes. We also have to take into account religious and cultural sensitivities. So basically I am in favor but there needs to be some changes in public opinion".
He goes on to say "We have a lot of athletes with hyperandorgenism. it is not just the one or two people you hear about in the media. In elite female athletics the number of intersex athletes is 140 times more than what you might find in the normal female population.
Brian Cookson, UCI President about Astana doping case and mix gender events for Tokyo2020
Athletes who have Hyperandrogenism
There are two notable examples of female athletes who express this. They are, Caster Semenya (South Africa) one whom we have already been discussing and Dutee Chand (India). Which we are now going to explore a bit more about.
Dutee who won her case against the IAAF regarding her Hyperandrogenism. This is outlined below in the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) media document;
The full report and legal document regarding this case for Dutee Chand can be found here;
It is 161 pages long, outlining the whole case/court proceedings. The summary of the case outlined the following for Dutee;
From Yahoo News on the 27th of April 2017 Dutee Chand said that the new Track and Field rules for women's testosterone rulings were "wrong" and she has kindly offered legal aid to help the current Olympic Champion Caster Semenya. Chand has said she "was relieved to have avoided falling under the regulations, which only cover distances between 400m and one mile". She has publicly criticised the current news surrounding the IAAF ruling against Caster via telephone to AFP stating "I am happy and relieved after four years of uncertainty but I feel for athletes like Semenya. I strongly believe the current rules are also wrong".
Dutee took her case in 2014 to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) to battle her right to compete in women's sport with expressing symptoms of Hyperandrogenism. She comments on this; "I lost crucial years of my career when I could not focus on my training and initially (in 2014) lost 6 months which is a significant time in a sportsperson's life". She missed three big competitions due to the rulings and dealings in court. These included; Asian Games, Commonwealth Games and the World Junior Athletics Championships. Now she is targeting the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.
CAS reasons for disagreeing the IAAF motion against Dutee Chand was as follows;
The CAS ruled against IAAF in the Chand case because the evidence available did not support the claim that high testosterone levels in certain female athletes were associated with a difference in performance between these women and other women that was similar to the difference between male and female.
CAS explained (527):
The Panel considers the lack of evidence regarding the quantitative relationship between enhanced levels of endogenous testosterone and enhanced athletic performance to be an important issue. While a 10% difference in athletic performance certainly justifies having separate male and female categories, a 1% difference may not justify a separation between athletes in the female category, given the many other relevant variables that also legitimately affect athletic performance. The numbers therefore matter. Because the performance numbers matter, levels of testosterone (or, unmentioned in the regulations, the presence of testes) are by themselves irrelevant. CAS judged that it is only if high levels of testosterone can be associated with a performance advantage of the order enjoyed by men over women that regulation might make sense.
CAS further explained (528):
However, in order to justify excluding an individual from competing in a particular category on the basis of a naturally occurring characteristic such as endogenous testosterone, it is not enough simply to establish that the characteristic has some performance enhancing effect. Instead, the IAAF needs to establish that the characteristic in question confers such a significant performance advantage over other members of the category that allowing individuals with that characteristic to compete would subvert the very basis for having the separate category and thereby prevent a level playing field. The degree or magnitude of the advantage is therefore critical.
This ruling got knocked back in July 2015 with Lord Coe commented on by saying "We were surprised by the CAS decision, and I think the IOC was too. We are looking again at this issue and will be talking to CAS at some time over the next year". This is referring to bringing the new evidence to the court.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) This section has been made in reference to Paul David's Book "A Guide to the World Anti Doping Code: The Fight for the Spirit of Sport 3rd Edition" and the CAS website. CAS is an independent body from any sporting committees or parties which provides services to facilitate sports-related disputes through arbitration or mediation by means of procedural rules adapted to the sports world. CAS was established in 1984 and is a sub body of the International Council of Arbitration for Sport (ICAS). CAS head office is in Lausanne, Switzerland.
CAS has nearly 300 arbitrators from 87 countries whom are selected based upon their specialist knowledge of arbitration and sports law. Each year there are around 300 cases registered and processed by CAS. The main function and role of CAS is to resolve legal disputes within sport through arbitration. It achieves this by pronouncing arbitrarl awards that have the same weight/impact and enforceability as judgments of ordinary courts. It can also help resolve issues between parties through mediation when the procedure is deemed appropriate.
Arbitration can be defined as "Arbitration is a non-judicial process for the settlement of disputes where an independent third party - an arbitrator - makes a decision that is binding" (CIARB, 2018).
Mediation can be defined as "A settlement of a dispute or controversy by setting up an independent person between two contending parties in order to aid them in the settlement of their disagreement" (Legal - Dictionary, 2018).
Logo referenced from: http://www.tas-cas.org/fileadmin/user_upload/LOGO_TAS.jpg
CAS occupies a central position in it's interpretation and application. CAS panels have empathized the need for consistency in their awards. These positions can be set up during events with high importance such as Olympic Games and or Commonwealth Games (or other similar events). To take into account each event, a set of specific rules are developed rating to the events in question and its setting.
What kinds of dispute can be submitted to the CAS ? The disputes can be submitted by anyone and they can be directly or indirectly linking sport. These disputes can range from a company and client issue (sponsorship contract breach) or a sports organisation behavioral issue (cheating or doping in an event).
If you wish to find out other cases CAS has dealt with then follow their database link:
To resolve sports-related issues through arbitration and mediation. Two bodies are were created:
The International Council of Arbitration for Sport (ICAS)
The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
"The purpose of ICAS is to facilitate the resolution of sports-related disputes through arbitration or mediation and to safeguard the independence of CAS and the rights of the parties. It is also is responsible for the administration and financing of CAS".
Website for CAS: http://www.tas-cas.org/en/index.html
Results and Information on CAS Trials: http://www.swissarbitrationdecisions.com/
CAS Statistics: http://www.tas-cas.org/fileadmin/user_upload/CAS_statistics_2016_.pdf
In recent news, Anti-Doping Norway are reportedly seeking for a Supreme Court to rule on anti-doping matters, rather than the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). Not all appears as it seems when it comes to doping/anti - doping in sport. However, on the 19th of June 2018; IAAF STATEMENT ON CAS ARBITRATION OF NEW FEMALE CLASSIFICATION REGULATIONSwas announced (see link below).
Social Media Opinion on Caster, IAAF and Hyperandrogenism
As you can imagine the social media backlash for this against Caster has gained the support from many fellow athletes with hyperandrogenism, newspapers, celebrities, governments and women's rights groups.
There have been some interesting comments off news sites, forums, boards and social media discussing the matter. Here are some of the highlights that I have seen;
Username of "Ingrid Luyt" publicly commented;
IAAF: Women competing in women's races must.....er, well, be women.
ANC/EFF: Unfair! Sexists! Racists!
Sports Doctor: What's difficult? Kick her in the nuts, if she goes down, she's out.
#HandsOffCaster Hastag trend on Social media has gathered alot of support
Funny Tweets
@Lebo_thagane wrote;
"If performance enhancing drugs are prohibited shouldn't the same apply for performance inhibiting drugs? I though the aim was not to alter an athlete's biology artificially? Once this begins where are we going to draw the line? #CasterSemenya #IAAF
Newspaper Comments
Username "Monty" off the Irish Times post about Caster said this;
IAAF: To the best of our knowledge, there is no other genetic or biological trait encountered in female athletics that confers such a huge performance advantage."
Monty: "Probably missed the high jump final then........................"
Username "PhilipDavis" off the Irish Times post about Caster said this;
"I find this outrageous! I understood Seb Coe to have huge lung capacity which gave him the edge over rivals. That's just the way it is, should he have had surgery to bring it inline with others?"
Some are claiming this is an act of Racism
Even Caster has made some posts about it
She has been posting stuff like this for past few weeks which I can't blame her really. She is being publicly attacked for her looks, gender and her achievements put into question by those who don't understand what she has grown up with.
Wider Issue and Future Possibilities for Caster and athletes with Hyperandrogenism One can not help to align themselves with feminists and women's rights even more over this matter. Even tho in the Western World which promotes equality and diversity for all this topics is a low point for women's rights and sport. South African minister of Sport described these rulings the "Caster Semenya Regulations" and I am very much inclined to agree with her as they seem to be targeting her (especially when it is her events they are only signposting to which is both factually and morally incorrect based off their claimed data and research statements).
More needs to be done to support athletes with hyperandrogenism not bully or segregate to be pointed at. More needs to be done to champion women in sport not define them as masculine if they appear to not fit the ideal "image norm". Finally, more academics need to come out against the IAAF and their attempts to alter the future of sport forever. If I had the time I would make a Systemmatic Review on hyperandrogenism in athletes across all sports and or the same review but showing having high testosterone levels does not mean a better sporting performance.
We should thank the likes of CAS, Dutee Chand, Professor Pielke Jnr and other academics for their quest to get the honest truth out to protect Caster and others like her. I would love to sit in a room with all the professors and academics such as; Professor Pielke, Professor Gelman, Associate Professor Schultz and Professor Sonksen to hear their discussions on the topic. No limits, free thinking say it as it is and I am sure we would get an agreed consensus supporting Caster and perhaps other interesting comments being developed from that academic melting pot.
Conclusion
It is a very interesting time in sport with sides being drawn across this topic. I just hope that with the media coverage on it and up incoming court hearing with Caster/IAAF/IOC/CAS that the correct decision is made. I am sure supporting Caster and correct research to protect and promote women's rights in sport. Thank you very much for reading. I sure enjoyed working on this the last few months. Let me know what you think in the comments section below.
Thanks again and I leave you all with a quote by William Shakespeare
"No Legacy is so rich as Honesty"
Take care
Andrew
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Looking at the career Caster Semenya has had. She is arguably one of the worlds greatest female runners we have seen. The best from the Commonwealth countries and undisputed greatest female runner from South Africa.
Her achievements and accolades include;
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place2012 London 800 m
Gold medal – first place2016 Rio de Janeiro800 m
World Championships
Gold medal – first place2009 Berlin 800 m
Gold medal – first place2011 Daegu 800 m
Gold medal – first place2017 London 800 m
Bronze medal – third place2017 London 1500 m
Commonwealth Games
Gold medal – first place2018 Gold Coast 800 m
Gold medal – first place2018 Gold Coast 1500 m
African Games
Gold medal – first place2015 Brazzaville 800 m
African Championships
Gold medal – first place2016 Durban 800 m
Gold medal – first place2016 Durban 1500 m
Gold medal – first place2016 Durban 4x400 m relay
World Junior Championships
Gold medal – first place2008 Bydgoszcz 800 m
2.0 Sports Gender Controversy - Bonus Scene | Gender Revolution
3.0 Gender-verification in women's competitive sports
Andrew Richardson, Founder of Strength is Never a Weakness Blog
I have a BSc (Hons) in Applied Sport Science and a Merit in my MSc in Sport and Exercise Science and I passed my PGCE at Teesside University.
Now I will be commencing my PhD into "Investigating Sedentary Lifestyles of the Tees Valley" this October 2019.
I am employed by Teesside University Sport and WellBeing Department as a PT/Fitness Instructor.
My long term goal is to become a Sport Science and/or Sport and Exercise Lecturer. I am also keen to contribute to academia via continued research in a quest for new knowledge.
My passion is for Sport Science which has led to additional interests incorporating Sports Psychology, Body Dysmorphia, AAS, Doping and Strength and Conditioning.
Within these respective fields, I have a passion for Strength Training, Fitness Testing, Periodisation and Tapering.
I write for numerous websites across the UK and Ireland including my own blog Strength is Never a Weakness.
I had my own business for providing training plans for teams and athletes.
I was one of the Irish National Coaches for Powerlifting, and have attained two 3rd places at the first World University Championships,
in Belarus in July 2016.Feel free to email me or call me as I am always looking for the next challenge.
