Namibian athlete slams Olympic ban

Namibian track star Beatrice Masilingi has spoken out about her Olympic ban, saying she is concerned about artificially changing her natural hormone balance. Masilingi and Christine Mboma – who broke a 30-year-old world 400m world record in an under 20 race last week – are out of the event at the Olympics after it was established they had naturally-occurring testosterone levels beyond those specified by the World Athletics Association. Namibia's National Olympic Committee has confirmed that Mboma and fellow sprinter Beatrice Masilinigi were unable to compete in Tokyo because of the rules (‘Athletes with Differences of Sexual Development’) following testing conducted by the global body. BBC News reports that the athletes – both aged 18 – have turned in four of the top five women's 400m times in the world this year. However, they have been barred from competing in the women's 400m race at the Tokyo Games because their natural testosterone levels are too high. Masilingi says she will refuse medication to alter her testosterone levels. ‘I would ruin the way my body develops because that'll be something that rearranges everything – how my body functions and everything,’ she said.