For young transgender runner, racing wasn’t the hardest thing Highlight

the science might be more complicated than what feels, to many voters, like common sense. While some trans women remain tall and deep-voiced, their athletic abilities change as they undergo gender treatments. A 2020 study of 46 trans women who began taking testosterone-blockers and estrogen while in the Air Force found that after two years on hormones, the trans women could no longer do as many push-ups or sit-ups as men. They could do only as many as cis women. They also ran slower than they had before they transitioned, but they still ran 12 percent faster than cis women.

And last year, the International Olympic Committee released a groundbreaking study that showed trans female athletes who suppress their testosterone and take estrogen retain a few advantages over cisgender women, but their bodies also change in ways that leave them unable to perform as well as their competitors. The study, which tested 75 cis and trans athletes, found that trans women did have better grip strength than cis women. But they also couldn’t jump as high or breathe as easily as cis men or women — key skills for track-and-field athletes.