Male athletes aiming to win Olympic medals without resorting to banned drugs could soon have a new, legal way of gaining an advantage over their rivals - wear a dress for two years and then compete as a woman.

This week the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the leading body of world sport, will decide whether to amend its rules to allow transsexuals who have undergone a sex change to compete under their new gender.

That proposal is controversial enough, since most sex changes are man-to-woman and critics say those transsexuals will retain unfair advantages of height and strength over female opponents.

The IOC is, however, preparing to go one stage further and allow transsexuals who have not had sex-change surgery to compete under their new gender so long as they have "lived as a woman" for two years.

Supporters of the proposal argue that it is about "equal opportunities" and "human rights", but many senior figures in athletics say that it will put female athletes at a severe disadvantage if they are forced to compete against "men dressed as women".

The IOC's move follows a recommendation from its medical commission. The IOC has refused to discuss the issue until after its executive board meets in Athens on Saturday.

The proposed changes would require the IOC to reintroduce gender-testing for athletes, a practice that it phased out before the Sydney Olympics in 2000 on the grounds of sexual discrimination.

The IOC's decision will be eagerly awaited by Claire Ashton, formerly a West Mercia policeman called Tony Ashton, who is involved in a legal battle with the British governing body for time-trial cycling.

She claims that she was sexually discriminated against by being asked to take a gender test after competing in the 2002 national 24-hour time-trial championship. Ashton, who has had full sex-change surgery, has postponed her action until after the Government's new Gender Recognition Bill becomes law.

Lord Moynihan, the shadow minister for sport, who won a rowing silver medal at the Moscow Olympics in 1980, said that unless the IOC established clear medical criteria for sex-change athletes, the new rules would make a mockery of sport.

He has written to Jacques Rogge, the president of the IOC, calling for clear criteria "to protect competitive sport and ensure fair competition . . . especially when considering transsexuals acquiring a new legal gender without undergoing surgical treatment".

He told the Telegraph: "If they don't have any criteria then there will be nothing to stop a top 100 metres runner saying 'I am a woman', and turning up without even having surgery.

"In the extreme position of someone like Dwain Chambers wishing to run the 100 metres as a woman, it is obvious that he is not a woman, but there has to be some sort of panel to which such a case would have to be referred."

The proposed changes are causing alarm among sportswomen. Karen Pickering, a British swimmer and the Commonwealth 200-metre freestyle champion, said that she would only feel comfortable about competing against a transsexual if it could be proved that she was not gaining an unfair advantage. "Nobody wants to be prejudiced but you have to maintain a level playing field."

Craig Reedie, the chairman of the British Olympic Association, said: "There is clearly an unfairness in a situation whereby somebody born a man changes to a woman but retains much of the man's physical strength." He doubted, however, whether the IOC wanted to bring back gender testing after a long fight to get rid of it following its introduction in 1966.

Ewa Klobukowska, a Polish sprinter, was the first woman to fail the test when, at the 1968 Olympics in Mexico, doctors said that she had "one chromosome too many to be declared a woman for the purposes of athletic competition".

The only known example of deliberate cheating came in 1955 when the German athlete, Hermann Ratjen, admitted that he had pretended to be a woman and had competed in the female high-jump at the Berlin Olympics in 1936. He finished fourth.

The Gender Recognition Bill, currently going through Parliament, may give full legal rights - including new birth certificates - to transsexuals even if they do not have an operation.

The Bill includes an amendment exempting sport from the legislation that would leave eligibility rules for competitions up to individual sporting governing bodies - but those bodies will take their lead from the IOC.

FYI

The Events

The foot- race
It is the oldest contest that took place in Olympia. Until the 13th Olympiad (728 B.C.) when the games lasted for only one day, it was the only event at the sanctuary. The athletes were running nude, in an area whose length was determined at 600 feet (192.27m), that is one Stade . It was this distance that gave its name to the area used for the performance of the event. These areas, the stadiums, were situated on hillsides or in small valleys, thus enabling the spectators to follow the events. Later and as the crowd of spectators grew, artificial slopes were built and the spectators sat on the ground.
The stadium at Olympia had a capacity of 45,000 spectators. Only men were allowed to watch the games with the exception of the high priestess of Demeter Chamyne. The start and duration of the stadium race were specified by clear rules and there were set penalties for athletes who broke them. The rules were clear for all the events and for the duration of the games there were specific bodies, the Alytai, who kept the order in all the areas of performance. The judges and those in charge of the games were the Hellondikai, who at first were life members but then appointed by lot from the Elean citizens.
There are no records of the achievements of the athletes during Archaic times as there were no means of the keeping of time. What was important was to be the first amongst the other athletes of the event, and receive the honour and the glory that followed such a distinction.
Also taking place in Olympia were the Heraia, athletic games for women in which young girls from Elis partook. These games were held every four years independently of the Olympic games. The women ran wearing their hair loose, dressed in short tunics.

Pentathlon
The pentathlon was a combination of heavy and light events. It included jumping, running, javelin, discus and wrestling. The pentathlon was considered to be a very important event because the athlete had to combine many qualities and skills of the body. In the Olympic Games running and wrestling were conducted separately, while the other three events were independent. Jason was, according to mythology, the inventor of the pentathlon.

Jumping
It is similar to the long jump. The athlete jumped into a pit holding halters in his hands. It was accompanied by flute music.

Discus
An event known from Homeric poems and one that the Greeks loved most. It was part of the pentathlon. A fleeting moment of discus throwing is captured in the famous statue of the Discus-thrower by Myron, a copy of which can be seen in Athens, opposite the Panathinaic Stadium.

Javelin
One of the favorite events of many mythical heroes. Seperated into "ekebolon" javelin throwing which was judged by the distance the javelin was thrown, and the "stochastikon" javelin throwing where the javelin was thrown at a specific target.

Wrestling
It is refered to for the first time in Homer's Labours for Patroclos. It was one of the pentathlon events but also independent in the Panhellenic games.

Boxing
One of the oldest events, as shown by the representation of two children boxing on the mural from Acrotiri in Thera, and the early reference to the event by Homer.

Pancration
A combination of wrestling and boxing, it is praised by Philostratos as the best and the most worthy event for men in the Olympic games.

The horse races
The hippodrome, a space used for the horse races differed in size from place to place. An aristocratic event, the horse races comprised of various events and were conducted with horses, chariots and quadriga.
The most spectacular event was the quadriga race, an event in which the most prominent historic personalities had competed. The hippodrome was the main place for exhibiting wealth and political strength during antiquity.

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