A scientific paper published on Monday finding that women who produce higher-than-normal amounts of testosterone have an advantage over their competition will be used by the world athletics governing body in its appeal against a decision to potentially sideline athletes with so-called intersex conditions.
It comes after the Court of Arbitration for Sport suspended an IAAF rule that enforced a limit on female athletes' naturally occurring testosterone levels.
The appeal will not affect this year's world championships, where South Africa's Olympic gold medallist Caster Semenya, who has been the centre of a past storm about her testerone levels, is expected to go for her third title in the 800 meters.
The study, funded by IAAF and the World Anti-Doping Agency, and published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, analysed more than 2,100 androgen samples from athletes participating in the 2011 and 2013 world championships.
It found females with higher testosterone levels received a competitive advantage of 1.8 per cent to 4.5 per cent over female athletes with lower testosterone levels in 400- and 800-metre races, hammer throw and pole vault.
"Imagine then the magnitude of the advantage for female athletes with testosterone levels in the normal male range," said one of the study's authors, Stephane Bermon.
In 2011, the IAAF enacted a rule to force athletes with hyperandrogenism to artificially lower their testosterone levels to be eligible to compete.
Dutee Chand of India contested the rule and the CAS overturned it in time for last year's Olympics.
The CAS gave the IAAF two years to produce evidence that hyperandrogenism led to an unfair advantage.
The IAAF said it will submit the paper, but would have no further comment until the case is concluded.
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