IOC Regulations on Female Hyperandrogenism
The IOC Executive Board, in accordance with Rule 19.3.10 of the Olympic Charter, andpursuant to Rule 44 of the Olympic Charter, hereby issues the following regulations
regarding female hyperandrogenism and participation in the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympic
Games (hereafter the “Regulations”).
Competitions at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympic Games (hereafter the “2014 OGCompetitions”), are conducted separately for men and women (with the exception ofcertain events). Human biology, however, allows for forms of intermediate levels between
the conventional categories of male and female, sometimes referred to as intersex.
Usually, intersex athletes can be placed in the male or female group on the basis of theirlegal sex. However, as explained below, intersex female athletes with elevated androgenproduction give rise to a particular concern in the context of competitive sports, which isreferred to as “female hyperandrogenism.”
In general, the performances of male and female athletes may differ mainly due to the factthat men produce significantly more androgenic hormones than women and, therefore, areunder stronger influence of such hormones. Androgenic hormones have performanceenhancing effects, particularly on strength, power and speed, which may provide acompetitive advantage in sports. This is one of the reasons why the exogenous
administration of such hormones and/or the promotion of the endogenous production ofthese hormones are banned under the World Anti-Doping Code, to which the IOC is asignatory.
Nothing in these Regulations is intended to make any determination of sex. Instead, theseRegulations are designed to identify circumstances in which a particular athlete will not beeligible (by reason of hormonal characteristics) to participate in 2014 OG Competitions inthe female category. In the event that the athlete has been declared ineligible to compete
in the female category, the athlete may be eligible to compete as a male athlete, if theathlete qualifies for the male event of the sport.

1. OBJECTIVE
These Regulations are intended to help regulate standard procedures in the investigationand follow-up of a possible case of female hyperandrogenism.

2. SCOPE OF APPLICATION
These Regulations apply to all 2014 OG Competitions.

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3. SEX AND ELIGIBILITY
A. For men’s 2014 OG Competitions, only men are eligible to compete. For
women’s 2014 OG Competitions, only women are eligible to compete. For
mixed gender 2014 OG Competitions, such as mixed doubles in tennis, onlyteams composed of one male and one female are eligible to compete. For
open 2014 OG Competitions, such as equestrian, both men and women areeligible to compete.
B. Each NOC shall ensure that its athletes are eligible for selection in accordancewith IOC rules and regulations. As a consequence, each NOC shall, asappropriate, prior to the registration of its national athletes, actively investigate
any perceived deviation in sex characteristics and keep complete
documentation of the findings, to the extent permitted by the applicable law oflegal residence of the concerned athlete.

4. THE IOC EXECUTIVE BOARD
The IOC Executive Board may sanction any breach of these Regulations, pursuant to theprovisions of the Olympic Charter, including Rules 40 and 59 thereof.

5. THE CHAIRMAN OF THE IOC MEDICAL COMMISSION AND AN EXPERT PANELThe Chairman of the IOC Medical Commission (hereafter the “Chairman”) may delegate
one or more of the members of the IOC Medical Commission or the OCOG Medical Officer
to supervise doping controls and to manage and coordinate all the health and medical
issues at the venues, including medical services for teams. The Chairman may alsodelegate part of his/her tasks to the IOC Medical and Scientific Director.
An Expert Panel shall be appointed to evaluate a suspected case of female
hyperandrogenism. The experts are appointed by the IOC Executive Board for theduration of the 2014 OG Competitions on the recommendation of the Chairman.
An Expert Panel for the purpose of these Regulations consists of one gynaecologist, onegenetic expert and one endocrinologist. Additional specialists may be appointed to an
Expert Panel.
The responsibilities of the Chairman and the Expert Panel are addressed in further detail inSection 8 below.
The experts convene and/or communicate ad hoc in the event that a female
hyperandrogenism investigation is initiated.

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6. PERSONS WHO CAN REQUEST A FEMALE HYPERANDROGENISM
INVESTIGATION
A. In order to request a female hyperandrogenism investigation, a person must be:i.

an athlete who is concerned about personal symptoms ofhyperandrogenism;ii.

a Chief NOC Medical Officer;

iii.

an IOC Medical Commission member or OCOG Medical Officer; oriv.

the Chairman.

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B. A request for a female hyperandrogenism investigation shall be made to theChairman in the form of a written statement regarding the eligibility of an athlete,and must include:i.

the reasons and basis for the request, including any evidence whichmight suggest that an athlete may have female hyperandrogenism;ii.

the relevant eligibility rules of the concerned International Federation(IF); andiii.

the name, title, address, contact information and signature of therequesting person.

7.
INADMISSIBILITY AND REJECTION OF A REQUEST FOR A FEMALE
HYPERANDROGENISM INVESTIGATION
Requests for a female hyperandrogenism investigation that do not satisfy the formal
requirements set forth in Section 6 above, or which lack substance, shall be rejected anddeclared inadmissible by the Chairman.
If the relevant IF has rules concerning eligibility to compete as a female, any decision
under such rules, whenever taken, shall take precedence over any IOC ruling and shall be
subject to any appeals process contained in the IF rules. Requests for an investigation
where there has already been a ruling by the IF on eligibility to compete as a female shallbe rejected and declared inadmissible by the Chairman.
Such decisions are final and binding and not subject to any appeal. Subsequent requests
which comply with the formal requirements of Section 6 above shall be considered.
The Chairman may also refer a request considered to have been made in bad faith to theIOC Executive Board, which may impose sanctions on the requesting person. Therequesting person shall have an opportunity to be heard prior to any sanctions beingimposed.
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For the purpose of these Regulations, the IOC Medical Commission shall mean the IOC Medical Commission
as appointed by the President of the IOC, plus the Games Group Members and OCOG IOC Medical Commission
Representative.
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8. PROCEDURE FOR INVESTIGATING FEMALE HYPERANDROGENISM
DURING THE 2014 OG COMPETITIONS
If the request for a female hyperandrogenism investigation is considered to have potential
merit by the Chairman, he/she shall initiate an investigation.
A. After the Chairman has decided to initiate a female hyperandrogenism
investigation, he/she shall instruct the IOC Medical and Scientific Director toproceed with the investigation.
B. At the request of the IOC Medical and Scientific Director, all relevant documents (ifavailable) of the athlete investigated (e.g., medical history, sex hormone levels,diagnosis, treatment, current findings, etc.) shall be provided by the athlete
investigated and/or her team physician. The IOC Medical and Scientific Director
will then provide this information to the Chairman.
C. If the Chairman considers that no further investigation is needed based on theinformation provided, he/she will declare the case to be closed.
D.

If the Chairman considers that the information provided (or the lack of information
provided) warrants further investigation, he/she shall recommend appointing anExpert Panel (see Section 5 above) to investigate the matter further.

E. The Expert Panel may request that the investigated athlete and/or her teamphysician provide further information and/or that the investigated athlete undergo
further examinations to determine whether female hyperandrogenism is present
and can be considered to confer a competitive advantage.
F. The Expert Panel shall examine all available information and establish (i) whether
the investigated athlete’s androgen level, measured by reference to testosterone
levels in serum, is within the male range, and if so, (ii) whether such2
hyperandrogenism is functional or not.
G. The investigated athlete and team physician shall have an opportunity to be heard
before the Expert Panel prior to any determination on female hyperandrogenism.
H. Should the athlete (to be investigated), the respective team physician or any
relevant person of the athlete’s entourage refuse to provide the requested
information, or should the athlete refuse to undergo any examinations, the athlete
may be provisionally suspended from the 2014 OG Competitions by the IOC
Executive Board, based upon a recommendation from the Chairman.
I.

The IOC Executive Board may impose further sanctions on the respective teamphysician and/or any relevant person in the athlete’s entourage.

J.

The Expert Panel shall take into consideration all of the available information,including any testimony from the investigated athlete, and shall have the following
procedural options:

2

There are some cases of hyperandrogenism that do not confer a competitive advantage
because of non-functional androgen receptors.
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If, in the opinion of the Expert Panel, the investigated athlete
does not have female hyperandrogenism, the Chairman shallclose the case, and the concerned athlete shall be eligible tocompete in the female 2012 OG Competitions. Such decision in
respect of the 2014 OG Competitions is final and binding and not
subject to appeal. If, in the opinion of the Expert Panel, theinvestigated athlete has female hyperandrogenism that does notconfer a competitive advantage because it is non-functional or theandrogen level is below the male range, the Chairman shall closethe case, and the concerned athlete shall be eligible to compete in
the 2014 OG Competitions. Such decision in respect of the 2014
OG Competitions is final and binding and not subject to appeal.

ii.

If, in the opinion of the Expert Panel, the investigated athlete has
female hyperandrogenism that confers a competitive advantage(because it is functional and the androgen level is in the malerange), the investigated athlete may be declared ineligible tocompete in the 2014 OG Competitions by the IOC Executive
Board, based upon the opinion of the Expert Panel and therecommendation of the Chairman. The IOC Executive Board may
impose further sanctions on the respective team physician and/or
any relevant persons in the investigated athlete’s entourage.

K. In order to help protect the dignity and privacy of the athlete concerned, requests
for investigations, information gathered during investigations, results ofinvestigations and decisions regarding a case (or potential case) of female
hyperandrogenism, shall be kept confidential and not released or made public bythe IOC.
Notwithstanding the above, should an athlete be declared ineligible for the 2014 OG
Competitions pursuant to these Regulations, the IOC may hand the case over to the Chief
Medical Officer of the relevant International Federation, subject to the informed consent of
the athlete, for any follow-up, as appropriate.
L. Only decisions to declare an athlete ineligible due to female hyperandrogenism
pursuant to Section 8(J)(ii), decisions for provisional suspension and decisions tosanction the respective team physician and/or any relevant person in the athlete’s
entourage pursuant to Section 8(I) may be appealed exclusively to the Court of
Arbitration for Sport ("CAS”) in accordance with the provisions applicable before
such court. Such decisions shall remain in effect while under appeal.
Only the following parties shall have the right to appeal to CAS: (a) the investigatedathlete or other person who is the subject of the decision being appealed; and (b) therelevant International Federation, subject to the informed consent of the concerned athlete.
The time to file an appeal to CAS shall be within twenty-one (21) days from the date ofcommunication by the IOC to the appealing party of the decision. Any such appeals shallbe kept confidential and not released or made public by CAS or by any other person.

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