The story that Beijing will have gender testing at the Olympics received media attention around the world, with many people asking if it is really necessary. The Guardian looked into five athletes who had their gender questions at a sporting competition.

The article does note: “Transsexuals, who have had a sex change from male to female, can compete in women’s events in the Olympics, as long they wait two years after the operation.”

Santhi Soundarajan

Gender test: fail

Edinanci Silva

Gender test: pass

Born with both male and female sex organs, underwent surgery to become a woman.

Dora Ratjen

Gender test: fail

Forced by the Nazis to enter the Olympics as a woman.

Stella Walsh

Gender test: ?

“The postmortem revealed she had male genitalia, although this did not prove that she was a man as she was also found to have both male and female chromosomes, a genetic condition known as mosaicism.”

Heidi Krieger

Gender test: Born female, forced to use steroids and later had gender reassignment surgery.