- Lisa Curry had to be tested before the 1992 Barcelona Games
- Swimming legend looks back in social media post
With just days until the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics, swimming legend Lisa Curry says she once had to take a “gender test” before competing in the Olympics.
Curry, 61, was one of the golden girls of Australian swimming during her 23-year career, which saw her represent Australia at three Olympic Games.
As the current North Stars are set to compete in their tournaments soon, Curry has revealed the eye-opening test she had to take in 1992.
“I found this yesterday and thought it would be fun to share some stories from the past leading up to the 2024 Paris Olympics Opening Ceremony on Friday,” Curry posted on social media alongside a photo of the “gender certificate” she received after the test.
‘This was a card given to all athletes who participated in Barcelona in 1992, after they completed a ‘gender test’.
“I wonder if they still do that?”
Curry then explained that the man who signed her card, and was the International Olympic Committee’s head of doping policy at the time, Alexandre de Merode, had a sometimes controversial career.
De Merode was involved in a number of doping scandals during the Olympic Games, notably in Los Angeles in 1984 and Seoul in 1988.
Lisa Curry has revealed she had to take a gender test before the Barcelona Olympics
Swimming legend says all athletes at the 1992 Games underwent gender testing – then revealed the ‘gender certificate’ she received
“This definitely surprised me… or didn’t it?” Curry said.
‘And it was during the Barcelona Games that we swam against the Chinese swimmers.’
In the early 1990s, Chinese swimmers began to dominate the sport and by the mid-1990s they were already winning many medals.
They became notorious for doping: in the past decade, more than 40 Chinese swimmers have failed doping tests.
The Paris Games have the strictest rules and regulations for transgender athletes in Olympic history.
Curry (pictured competing in the 100m butterfly at the Barcelona Games) had a distinguished career, representing Australia at three Olympic Games
Some sports have recently decided that transgender athletes must complete their transition before the age of 12, so that transgender athletes do not have an unfair advantage in going through male puberty.
These guidelines have been adopted by athletics and swimming. Other sports have their own specific rules in the run-up to the Paris Games.
In November 2021 the IOC publishes guidelines to find the best way to support trans athletes and to promote their participation in elite sport, while at the same time maintaining ‘meaningful and fair competition’.
In January, Curry announced on social media that she is “recovering” from the tragic death of her daughter Jaimi at age 33 in 2020.
Jaimi, Lisa’s ex-husband Grant Kenny’s wife, died in September 2020 after a long battle with alcoholism and an eating disorder.
Lisa and Grant Kenny married in 1984, separated in 2009 and had three children together: son Jett, 29, and daughters Morgan, 32, and Jaimi.
Jaimi passed away on September 14, 2020 at Sunshine Coast University Hospital, surrounded by her family.