Michael O’Neill believes 2024 can bring a “rebirth” for Northern Ireland but knows he must also forge a new identity for his young team.
A hugely disappointing Euro 2024 qualifying campaign that was ruined by injuries forced O’Neill to accelerate the rebuilding process Northern Ireland knew was coming, and the next steps will be seen in friendlies now and in June before the Nations League returns in September.
A new generation spearheaded by the likes of Conor Bradley, Isaac Price, Trai Hume and Shea Charles offers great hope – as did November’s 2-0 win over Denmark – but O’Neill knows he must now mould this inexperienced squad into a team that can play to their collective strengths.
“I don’t think it’s a reset, I think it’s a rebirth if I’m honest,” O’Neill said. “This is a new group of players.
“I think we (are in double figures) in our group that have never been capped or are in single figures in caps so they are at the very start of their international careers.
“A lot of them are at the start of their club careers as well. I think this is a new team that’s being developed.
“We really only have what I would say are four experienced players with us and this team has a lot of potential but it needs time.”
When Northern Ireland reached Euro 2016 under O’Neill, they were known for their ability to soak up pressure and then nick a goal, often through set-pieces, to compete against higher-ranked opposition.
O’Neill said that finding an identity for this group was “essential”.
“I think any team that does well requires an identity,” he said. “The players have to buy into that as well and trust the work that we do. They all play in different styles of football at their clubs.
“If you look at Conor Bradley playing for Liverpool that’s going to be different to the style of play Eoin Toal plays at Bolton so it is about bringing all of that into the mix and creating our own identity that works for us.
“Any good Northern Ireland team is good when the opposition has the ball and that’s what we have to work really hard on.
“We demonstrated that in the game against Denmark and the next phase of the development of the team is to always be that but also to be as productive as we can be as well…
“We will ask players to step up in level so we are asking players who play in League One in England to step up against players playing at higher levels across Europe. The most important thing is that our players show they can deal with that. I’ve every confidence they will.”
Sunderland defender Hume, who last week received the award he won in December as Northern Ireland’s player of the year, said there was a high level of confidence in the group after the qualifying campaign ended on a high note with the win over Denmark in Belfast.
“We are a a young squad, we have to keep building,” the 22-year-old said. “The last campaign we lost a lot of games very closely so it’s a tough one to take but beating Denmark 2-0, I hope for a lot of players we can build on that, we can gain confidence going into these games.”
Dan Ballard will miss Friday’s game in Bucharest after becoming a father for the first time but could return for Tuesday’s match against Scotland in Glasgow, when O’Neill also hopes to have Jamal Lewis and Ross McCausland back in the group after injury.
Ollie Sangster’s Shuwari has been ruled out of the Qipco 1000 Guineas after suffering a setback.
The daughter of New Bay advertised her potential when striking at Listed level on just her second start and wemt on to bank plenty of Newmarket experience when second in both the Rockfel Stakes and Fillies’ Mile in the autumn.
Those performances marked her out as a Classic contender and her handler was relishing the prospect of setting her a big-race assignment back on the Rowley Mile on the first weekend in May.
However, a small issue that will take some time to resolve has come to light, putting Shuwari’s three-year-old campaign on hold.
“She’s had a setback and there will be no Guineas,” said Sangster.
“She was training great and had wintered well. She had grown and strengthened up and her work had been very good this spring. She was in very good shape and we were looking forward to it (the Guineas).
“I’m not sure on a timescale, we will just have to see how the rehab goes in the next few weeks and then we will have a better guide on it.”
As well as Shuwari, Per Contra made headlines for Sangster during his first season in the training ranks.
The Wathnan Racing-owned colt impressed in his first two appearances and, although slightly underwhelming in his first try in Group company, the Manton handler is keen to see how he returns at the start of his three-year-old campaign.
“He’s in good form, he’s going galloping tomorrow and Monday and then we will begin plotting a bit of a route for him,” continued Sangster.
“I think he will go up in trip this year. I don’t think he will be a big stayer but he will go up to 10 furlongs anyway. I think he is off quite a nice mark, so we will see.”
George Boughey is working back from the French 1000 Guineas with Chic Colombine following her spectacular reappearance at Saint-Cloud last weekend.
The daughter of Seahenge enjoyed an excellent juvenile campaign last season, winning four successive races in the space of three months before signing off with fourth place in the Group Three Oh So Sharp Stakes at Newmarket in October.
Sent across the Channel for a Listed race on her three-year-old debut, Chic Colombine ran out an impressive six-length winner in the hands of Billy Loughnane and Boughey is excited to see what the rest of the season has in store.
“She was good, I think the fashion of her win was a bit surprising but it didn’t surprise me that she won,” said the Newmarket handler.
“She’s done as well as anything over the winter, she was a frame of a horse last year and she’s going to go back to France for the French 1000 Guineas trial – the Prix de la Grotte at ParisLongchamp.
“She’s come out of her race really good, she’s eligible for French premiums and I didn’t put her in the English Guineas intentionally as we’re working back for the French Guineas.”
While Chic Colombine’s comeback victory was achieved in heavy ground, Boughey does not believe testing conditions are essential.
He added: “She obviously handles slow ground but I look forward to seeing her on some better ground in time. William Buick rode her in her first handicap, he said she was better than a handicapper and it was decent ground that day.
“I think she’s versatile ground-wise, Highclere (Thoroughbred Racing) have got another nice filly and it’s great to get that bold black type early in the season.”
George North will miss the rest of this season after suffering a ruptured Achilles during Wales’ Guinness Six Nations defeat against Italy.
North, 31, went off two minutes from the end as Wales crashed to a fifth successive Six Nations loss this season that meant their first wooden spoon since 2003.
It was the Wales and Ospreys centre’s final appearance before retiring from international rugby.
“Ospreys can confirm that George North will miss the remainder of the season following surgery on a ruptured Achilles injury sustained whilst playing for Wales v Italy,” the Ospreys said on X.
“We’d like to thank George for his time at the club and wish him the best for the future.”
North, who will leave the Ospreys and join ambitious French club Provence this summer, added on X: “Not everyone gets the fairytale ending.
“A ruptured Achilles wasn’t the way I wanted to bow out of international rugby.
“Still, I have loved every second. Can’t thank everyone enough for the support and kind messages. On the recovery train now.”
A ruptured Achilles can mean several months on the sidelines, and it was a cruel way for North to leave the Test arena.
He won 121 caps – only Alun Wyn Jones and Gethin Jenkins have played more times for Wales – and scored 47 tries for his country.
North also helped Wales win four Six Nations titles, including two Grand Slams, while he also played in four World Cups.
Nicky Richards’ Famous Bridge is preparing for a Scottish Grand National bid after his fourth-placed effort in the Ultima Handicap Chase at Cheltenham.
The eight-year-old runs in the silks of the late Trevor Hemmings and has developed into the classic chasing type associated with those colours.
After taking a good handicap chase at Haydock in November, the gelding returned to the same track to win the Tommy Whittle the following month.
He was pulled up in the Great Yorkshire Chase at Doncaster and then parted ways with Sean Quinlan when going well in the Grand National Trial at Haydock last month, but put both runs behind him when lining up at Cheltenham.
A 25-1 chance for the three-mile-one-furlong Ultima, Famous Bridge came home fourth of 21 runners to set up a possible Scottish Grand National run to round off his campaign.
“He seems fine, we’ll just see how he is for the next week or 10 days or so, if he’s all right and the ground’s all right, we’ll go for the Scottish National,” said Richards.
“He ran a decent race in the Ultima, he’s a very tough and consistent horse, we were pleased with him.
“He’s had a busy season running in competitive races, so he’ll go up there to Scotland and that’ll be his last run this time.
“He’s had a grand year, it’s a shame he unseated at Haydock but there you go, he’ll make up for that next year and we’ll train him with the National in mind.”
The Prince of Wales’s Stakes is King Of Steel’s main objective in the first half of the new Flat season, with Roger Varian lining up one run before a tilt at a second Royal Ascot triumph.
The Champion Stakes hero thrived at the Berkshire venue during his Classic season, with both of his victories coming at the track.
He followed up his brave second to Auguste Rodin in the Derby by winning the King Edward VII Stakes at last year’s Royal meeting and although having to settle for third in the King George back at the Berkshire venue in July, he then triumphed on British Champions Day.
The Amo Racing-owned colt finished his campaign with a fifth-placed effort in the Breeders’ Cup Turf at Santa Anita and after a well-earned winter break is back at Carlburg Stables tuning up for the season ahead.
“He’s in great form and has wintered very well. He looks a picture and we’re very happy with him,” said Varian.
“He looks stronger and he’s entitled to be – he’s a big horse with low mileage so he’s entitled to be getting stronger. It looks that way and hopefully with strength comes some improvement, so we will see.”
With Varian eyeing just one outing for King Of Steel before returning to Ascot in June, the Newmarket handler has identified either the Curragh’s Tattersalls Gold Cup on May 26 or a trip to Sandown for the Brigadier Gerard Stakes three days earlier to tune-up for Prince of Wales’s Stakes action.
He continued: “We will be very much looking at the Prince of Wales’s Stakes at Royal Ascot with one run before, either in Ireland or here. That will be his primary target for the first half of the season.
“We wouldn’t be looking to get him started before May and I guess closer to the time we will make a decision between going to Ireland for the Tattersalls Gold Cup or staying closer to home and going for the Brigadier Gerard at Sandown.
“The Prince of Wales’s Stakes is the obvious early season race for him, he’s been successful twice at the track and the only time he wasn’t he was a fine third in the King George.”
Although there is still a while for racing fans to wait before King Of Steel makes his return, Varian’s star stayer Eldar Eldarov is set to reappear in the Group Two Dubai Gold Cup at Meydan on World Cup night.
The Classic winner was last seen adding the Irish St Leger to the Doncaster version he landed during his three-year-old season and the son of Dubawi is reported to be in rude health ahead of his slated overseas comeback.
The five-year-old has been partnered throughout his career by David Egan, but there will be a new man in the saddle out in the Middle East with James Doyle beginning what Varian hopes will become a fruitful association with the yard aboard the dual St Leger hero.
Varian added: “He’s scheduled to ship on Saturday and has done all his work now. He’s training well and looks a picture and we’re looking forward to getting his season started out there.
“James Doyle will ride him and a lot of our horses this year when available and when it works out for us and for him. He will be riding Eldar at Meydan and we’re looking forward to that.”
Marlie Packer will make her 100th England appearance on Sunday when she captains the side in their Six Nations opener against Italy in Parma.
Red Roses head coach John Mitchell announced his squad on Thursday and Packer will become the seventh woman to reach the milestone for England.
Mitchell said the 34-year-old Saracens back-row, who made her senior international debut in 2008, “epitomises what it is to be a Red Rose”.
He added: “Reaching 100 caps for your country is an awesome achievement. Talking to Marlie about her journey, she has had to overcome adversity since her Test debut.
“What has been evident since I first met her is that her determination to succeed has been ingrained in her over the past 16 years, helping her achieve what she has in the game.”
Packer is one of only five players who have retained their starting places following England’s 33-12 win against New Zealand when sealing the inaugural WXV1 title in November last year.
The others are Harlequins full-back Ellie Kildunne, Trailfinders wing Abby Dow, Loughborough centre Helena Rowland and Bristol hooker Lark Atkin-Davies.
Saracens fly-half Zoe Harrison, Loughborough centre Emily Scarratt and Bristol second-row Abbie Ward all return to the starting line-up for the first time since England’s 34-31 defeat to New Zealand in the 2022 World Cup final.
Saracens prop Kelsey Clifford is poised for her maiden Test start and Exeter flanker Maddie Feaunati could make her England debut off the bench.
Loughborough flanker Sadia Kabeya and Harlequins scrum-half Lucy Packer will both start against Italy after missing WXV through injury.
England have lost only three of their last 60 Test matches and after completing the Six Nations Grand Slam last year, they finished the 2023 season unbeaten.
Mitchell said: “We are excited to get going in what is an awesome tournament. We are focused on improving our performance.
“We want to get quicker at our game, we want to create more pressure on the opposition and we want to present attacking opportunities. Italy is our first opportunity to put into practice what we are aiming to achieve.”
England team to face Italy: Ellie Kildunne (Harlequins), Abby Dow (Trailfinders), Helena Rowland (Loughborough), Emily Scarratt (Loughborough), Jess Breach (Saracens), Zoe Harrison (Saracens), Lucy Packer (Harlequins), Hannah Botterman (Bristol), Lark Atkin-Davies (Bristol), Kelsey Clifford (Saracens), Zoe Aldcroft (Gloucester-Hartpury), Abbie Ward (Bristol), Sadia Kabeya (Loughborough), Marlie Packer (Saracens), Sarah Beckett (Gloucester-Hartpury).
Replacements: Connie Powell (Harlequins), Mackenzie Carson (Gloucester-Hartpury), Maud Muir (Gloucester-Hartpury), Maddie Feaunati (Exeter), Alex Matthews (Gloucester-Hartpury), Natasha Hunt (Gloucester-Hartpury), Holly Aitchison (Bristol), Megan Jones (Leicester).
Nathan Collins has backed the Football Association of Ireland to get it right as they look for a new manager.
Stephen Kenny’s tenure as Republic of Ireland boss ended in disappointment in November last year, since when the FAI has been working to find a replacement with an appointment due to be announced next month.
Former Ireland international John O’Shea has been placed in interim charge for the friendlies against Belgium and Switzerland, with speculation mounting over the identity of the successful candidate after England Under-21s boss Lee Carsley ruled himself out of contention.
Asked about the situation, 22-year-old Brentford defender Collins told a press conference: “I trust them. You have to trust them. If I didn’t, then I wouldn’t be here.
“It’s up to them and I trust who they put in front of us. At the end of the day, they’ll do what’s right for us.”
The FAI’s director of football Marc Canham said after O’Shea was handed the reins that “contractual obligations” prevented him from naming names in the hunt for Kenny’s successor, in the process intimating the former Manchester United defender was unlikely to remain in post.
However, a man who has cut his teeth with both the under-21 and senior coaching set-ups – the 42-year-old served as one of Kenny’s assistant during the latter stages of his tenure – has impressed the squad.
Collins said: “I can’t speak highly enough of him, from what he did with the under-21s, even with Stephen Kenny. He’s been class with us, he’s helped me a lot. It’s an enjoyable experience working with him.
“When a new manager comes in, it’s always going to be a bit different. It’s exciting, I think. It’s a good group of lads, a few new lads as well, a lot of fresh boys, so I’m looking forward to it and we’re all excited.”
O’Shea’s time with the under-21s saw him work under manager Jim Crawford, and he is in little doubt as to the qualities the 118-cap defender will bring to his task.
Crawford said: “John has fantastic knowledge of the game. As a head coach, you need to be able to control your emotions and he certainly can do that. He sees the game in a very clear way and he has the communications skills to be able to transfer his ideas to the player without any problem.
“He is extremely likeable and what underpins all that is the career he had as a player. When you go in as a head coach, it is totally different to being a player. It is a different skillset.
“But the fact John was hugely successful with Ireland and Manchester United will help him in this role. He was massive with us and I do know that John learned a lot when he was with the 21s, just as he did with Reading, Stoke, Birmingham and with the Irish senior team.”
Top-weight Hewick has been officially scratched from the Randox Grand National, with trainer Shark Hanlon instead targeting the Aintree Bowl two days earlier.
Following his thrilling victory in the King George VI Chase at Kempton on Boxing Day, connections had been planning a huge spring double with both the Cheltenham Gold Cup and the world’s most famous steeplechase on Merseyside in their sights.
However, Hanlon made the difficult decision to withdraw his stable star from last week’s blue riband due to the rain-softened ground and admitted afterwards he was considering switching his focus at Aintree to give him the best opportunity of having another shot at Gold Cup glory next term.
The County Carlow handler now confirmed that plan, with an appearance in the Bowl potentially set to be followed by an outing in the Punchestown Gold Cup in early May.
“I’m going for the Bowl and then after that it’s quite possible we’ll come back to Punchestown for the Gold Cup there,” said Hanlon.
“I want to go for the Gold Cup next year, so he can go for a National next year, and the Bowl looks the race now as a lot of the horses out of the Bowl have run in the Gold Cup and our lad will be going there fresh.
“What have you going for the Bowl? Paul Nicholls’ horse (Bravemansgame) will probably go again, but he got a hard race in Cheltenham, and you don’t know how Nicky Henderson’s horse (Shishkin) is.
“It’s a £250,000 race, so it’s worth a lot of money, and that’s our aim.”
Hewick’s defection from the Grand National means Gordon Elliott’s Conflated now heads the Aintree field.
Jordan Pickford says speculation over Gareth Southgate’s future makes “no difference” to an England squad fully focused on winning the European Championship.
Having reached the World Cup semi-finals and quarter-finals either side of finishing as Euro 2020 runners-up, the team are favourites to be crowned continental champions this summer.
Euro 2024 could well be Southgate’s fourth and final tournament in charge, with the former England defender’s Football Association contract expiring at the end of the year.
The 53-year-old says contract talks are on the back burner as his focus is on glory in Germany, but background noise has increased this week following talk of Manchester United’s potential interest.
Asked what difference speculation about Southgate’s immediate future makes, England goalkeeper Pickford told BBC Radio 5 Live: “I think there’s no difference. I think there’s one goal and that’s to win a European trophy.
“Us as players, and I think the manager and the staff, that’s all our goal is, to be focused on winning the European Championship.
“I think all the noise around anything else will probably come after that.”
Southgate handed Pickford his England debut in November 2017 and made him number one heading into the following year’s World Cup in Russia.
“His character has not changed,” the 58-cap goalkeeper said. “He’s a top man manager and he’s got a great set of staff around him.
“The training’s always good with the manager and everything we do is good.”
Southgate is currently working with Pickford and his team-mates ahead of England’s friendlies against Brazil and Belgium, when the Everton goalkeeper could be joined on the pitch by some familiar faces.
Anthony Gordon came through the ranks at Goodison Park and has gone on, in Pickford’s opinion, to become Newcastle’s best player this season.
The 23-year-old was part of the England side that won last summer’s Under-21 European Championship, as was highly-rated Toffees centre-back Jarrad Branthwaite.
“He’s been really good, a bit of a Rolls Royce,” Pickford said of the defender after his first senior call-up. “He’s calm and he makes the right decisions as well.
“He’s been quality this season and it’ll be a massive honour for him and his family to get called up for England, but fully deserved as well, I would say.”
Gordon, Branthwaite and fellow new boy Kobbie Mainoo are desperate to make their England debuts in a camp Ben White opted not to join.
The Arsenal defender went to the last Euros and World Cup, but Southgate revealed last week that he does not currently want to be selected by the national team.
White left Qatar early due to “personal reasons” and reports emerged of a fall-out between him and assistant Steve Holland, although the England boss last week stressed there was “never any issue” between them.
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Asked about White’s decision to snub an England recall, Pickford said: “Nothing’s been said. We just crack on as normal.
“That’s his own decision and you never know what’s happening at home, so you can’t really judge anyone I would say.
“But, for me, I love nothing more than wearing the England shirt and when I get the opportunity I grab it with both hands, which I’ve done for the last six, seven years.
“There’s not a better buzz than putting the England shirt on.”
Silvestre De Sousa returns to the big stage in Britain as Johan bids for more success in the William Hill Lincoln at Doncaster.
Jack Channon’s seven-year-old won the season-opening showpiece back in 2022 – when he was trained by the handler’s father Mick – and will have what appears optimum conditions on Town Moor as he attempts a repeat.
De Sousa was in the saddle for that 2022 success and after a spell in Hong Kong blighted by a 10-month suspension, the three-times British champion jockey is set for his biggest mount since his UK comeback earlier this month.
“James Doyle rode him when he won (at Goodwood) last year but with him not being back, it was an obvious choice for me,” said Channon on De Sousa’s return to the saddle.
“Silvestre got on well with him the year before and it’s nice to have someone who knows the horse. He’s very straightforward, but it’s still nice to have someone who knows him.
“We know he handles cut in the ground and I think if we get a couple of dry days that will be ideal for him, just soft, good to soft will be absolutely ideal for him, but we know he handles it really soft as well so ground shouldn’t be a problem for him.”
A full field of 22 will head to post for the one-mile event that starts the Flat turf season and Johan is joined by defending champion Migration towards the top of the weights.
Last year’s runner-up Awaal is amongst the market leaders for Simon and Ed Crisford, while Chazzesmee is an interesting runner for Fozzy Stack having landed the Irish equivalent at the Curragh on Monday and will be attempting the double under a 5lb penalty for that success.
Fellow Irish challenger Blues Emperor was a narrow second in the Irish Cambridgeshire on his penultimate start and represents Johnny Murtagh, with Karl Burke’s track-and-trip winner Liberty Lane and Charlie Johnston’s Balmoral winner The Gatekeeper other names of note.
Irish Lincolnshire third Raadobarg and John and Thady Gosden’s Mostabshir, were the key names not declared on Thursday morning for the £150,000 event.
Owen Farrell possesses the drive to one day resume his England career and could remain in rugby for the rest of his life, according to Saracens boss Mark McCall.
Long-serving England captain Farrell will become ineligible for international selection under Rugby Football Union rules when he joins French club Racing 92 on a two-year contract in the summer.
After sitting out the Guinness Six Nations to prioritise his mental health, the 32-year-old is set to return to competitive action on Saturday in the Gallagher Premiership clash with London rivals Harlequins.
Saracens director of rugby McCall believes Farrell is capable of remaining at the top level for the foreseeable future, including eventually adding to the 112 caps he was won for his country.
“There are very few players who can and I think he is one of them,” said McCall.
“But you have got to have the drive to do that, you’ve got to have the competitive spirit to do that – I think he has that.
“He can keep going for as long as that drive and competitive spirit is there.”
Fly-half Farrell has spent his entire career with Saracens and is poised to make his 250th appearance for the club in this weekend’s derby against Quins at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
“Regardless of what happens over the next 10 weeks, his legacy is firmly established here,” said McCall, who joined Sarries in 2009 when Farrell was still a teenager.
“He’s done everything and achieved everything here.
“And to go and explore the opportunity that he is in France and experience something different with his family, I think is a great thing to do at this stage of his career.
“I can’t imagine Owen Farrell not being in rugby for the rest of his life, to be honest.
“Given the rugby IQ that he has, the motivational ability that he has, the brilliant communicator that he is, the good person that he is, you could see him stepping into coaching very readily and we hope in time that might be here.”
Farrell opted to step out of the limelight after last year’s Rugby World Cup in France following intense scrutiny.
“The break was important for him,” said McCall. “He’s had a personally very difficult time.
“Maybe it’s him being brave enough to talk about it, which is not easy to do for most people, certainly not somebody like Owen.
“I think at least it’s maybe changed the dial a small bit.
“When people talk about England now, it’s never as bad as people are saying and it’s never as good as some people are saying. It’s somewhere in the middle but no one ever reports it that way.
“I think Owen’s bravery in telling people how he felt was a good thing.
“We almost forbade him from coming (into training) because he needed some respite and needed to go and do some things with his family, some things that were not rugby related. He is now free to throw himself into the rest of the season.”
McCall revealed Saracens have identified a replacement for Farrell and expects an official announcement in the coming weeks.
“It has been a fascinating project trying to find the right person,” he said.
“We wanted to look for someone that we believed had the potential and the personality to be part of this team for a while. We think we have found the right person.”
Iran’s Hossein Vafaei edged out Ronnie O’Sullivan in a thrilling final frame to reach the quarter-finals of the World Open in Yushan.
O’Sullivan fought back from behind on four occasions, the last time with a break of 125, but ran out of position on a break of 62 in the decider.
The world number one still looked set to win when he later potted the final red to lead by 26 points, but missed a difficult black along the cushion instead of opting to leave Vafaei snookered on the yellow.
That decision came back to bite the seven-time world champion as he left the yellow over a corner pocket in escaping from a snooker and Vafaei held his nerve to clear the table and secure a 5-4 victory.
Defending champion Judd Trump, who won the tournament when it was last staged in 2019, also reached the last eight with a 5-3 win over David Lilley, while Barry Hawkins made breaks of 129, 67, 71 and 54 as he reeled off five frames in succession to beat Stephen Maguire 5-1.
In the final match of the morning session, Kyren Wilson made a break of 119 in the deciding frame to beat Ben Woollaston 5-4.
The International Olympic Committee is wrong, on current evidence, to say there can be no presumed advantage to transgender women competing in female categories, a new study states.
The IOC has been urged to review the framework for transgender inclusion it published in 2021 in a new paper published in the Scandinavian Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports.
Scientists say there is a mountain of evidence in existing studies highlighting the differences in physical performance between men and women but also “limited but existing evidence” that significant advantages remain even after a trans woman who has been through male puberty has undergone treatment to lower testosterone.
Alun Williams, Professor of Sport and Exercise Genomics at the Manchester Metropolitan University Institute of Sport and co-author of the paper, said: “The IOC’s framework says there is no ‘presumption of advantage’, but the data shows there is physical development that takes place during adolescence in males that gives clear athletic advantages.
“Male development during puberty results in large performance advantages in athletic sports, such as larger muscle mass, heart size, lung capacity, bones, strength, and circulating haemoglobin, which are integral to sports performance.
“It is this exposure to testosterone during adolescent development, not the level of testosterone present in adults, that underpins the difference between the male and female categories, and there is currently no evidence that testosterone suppression in transgender women can reverse male development and negate these advantages.”
The new research uses data to demonstrate the difference between male and female physiology, showing, for example, up to 50 per cent greater upper body muscle mass and 40 per cent greater lower body muscle mass in males, in addition to skeletal differences such as nine per cent greater height and 14 per cent greater shoulder width.
Transgender swimmer Lia Thomas is seeking to challenge World Aquatics rules introduced in 2022 which prohibit her from competing in the female category.
The rules are set to be challenged at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) by Thomas’ legal team on the grounds that they are discriminatory and that such discrimination “cannot be justified as necessary, reasonable, or proportionate to achieve a legitimate sporting objective”.
Speaking generally rather than specifically on the Thomas case, Professor Williams said proportionality was always a difficult issue to interpret.
“To some, a proportionate response to even a one per cent retained advantage is ineligibility,” he said.
“Some people have asked, is there a meaningful advantage or meaningful difference that still exists (even after testosterone treatment)?”
Asked whether there was a meaningful advantage, Professor Williams replied: “That is what the evidence shows. Whatever the initial (performance) difference is, typically less than half of that difference seems to be removed (by the lowering of testosterone) in the scientific studies examined.
“At least half (the advantage) in most of the things that we’re talking about – muscle mass and strength and endurance and so on – seems to remain.”
The IOC has been contacted for a response.
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