DR. SIEGEL: The simple answer to Olympic boxing's complicated problem

Debate over the biological sex of a boxer who won a women's match at the Olympic Games is sweeping the globe. Here's what Americans have to say about the issue.

When it comes to high level competitive sports, it makes total sense that there should be no competitive advantage. That’s why doping is universally banned, and why there are frequent doping tests. It is also why so much consternation and international friction exists between the U.S. and China over suspected doping cases that China and global authorities supposedly covered up.

But a different – though related – question arose in the Olympics in Paris this week, namely what about a high testosterone level, not from anabolic steroids, but from a genetic variance or so-called Differences of Sex Development (DSDs)? This is not the same question as whether transgender women born as males have an advantage competing in women’s sports. That is a different debate. Today’s question is about Imane Khelif, of Algeria, who identifies as a woman but was disqualified from the 2023 world championships after failing some type of gender eligibility test.

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Yet now she was allowed to compete in an Olympic boxing bout which she won when her frightened opponent submitted after less than a minute. Is this fair? Yes it is. We are not right to question the International Olympic Committee defending her right to compete without specific information to the contrary. I also respect her opponent, Italian boxer Angela Carini, for apologizing for expressing her outrage following her loss. Both are high-road moves which I respect. But the real medical question still remains. What is a competitive advantage and how