"There are social aspects to sport, but physiology and biology underpin it; testosterone is the 800-pound gorilla," the Mayo Clinic's Dr. Michael J. Joyner explained to The New York Times.
"You see the divergence immediately as the testosterone surges into the boys. There are dramatic differences in performances."
While the University of Pennsylvania swimming's Thomas does reportedly take testosterone suppressants throughout a sex transition, Joyner and an international physiologist verified Thomas has inescapable advantages.
WATCH: AT WHAT POINT WE WILL TAKE THEM SERIOUSLY?
"Gender cannot trump biology," according to World Athletics chief Sebastian Coe, an Olympic champion runner.
Thomas triumphed in the 500-yard freestyle at the NCAA Women's Championships in Atlanta in March.
Tennis legend Martina Navratilova, outspoken for lesbians, explained to the Times, Thomas gets an unjust edge in swimming.
PASTOR DODGES BULLET MID-SERMON AFTER MAN "SEES SPIRITS" AND OPENS FIRE
"I played against taller women," Navratilova explained to the Times. "I played against stronger women, and I beat them all."
"But if I faced the male equivalent of Lia in tennis, that's biology. I would have had no shot. And I would have been livid."
WATCH: BRITAIN'S HEAVIEST MAN HAS PASSED AWAY AT 33
Even half of Thomas' University of Pennsylvania teammates used the "unfair advantage" phrase in their lawyer's letter to the school.
"Activists conflate sex and gender in a way that is really confusing," Harvard University Dr. Carole Hooven, author of "T: The Story of Testosterone," stated to the Times. "There is a large performance gap between healthy normal populations of males and females, and that is driven by testosterone.”
MAN'S UNEXPECTED CONFESSION ON SIDE OF OKLAHOMA HIGHWAY SHAKES UP 5-YEAR-OLD COLD CASE
Statistically, there is little arguing with the data. Elite adult male swimmer record-holders are 10-12% quicker than that of female counterparts – which has held over decades – the Times reported.
"Lia Thomas is the manifestation of scientific evidence," Dr. Ross Tucker, a sports physiologist, explained to the Times. "The reduction in testosterone did not remove her biological advantage."
MORE CHINESE NATIONALS CAUGHT CROSSING U.S. BORDER IN 2 DAYS THAN ALL OF 2021
Although the number of transgender athletes on top teams is little — a precise count is elusive as no primary athletic association collects such data — disagreements are deep. They center on science, fairness and inclusiveness, and cut to the core of distinctions between gender identity and biological sex.
MEDIA FRENZY: ABC NEWS PRESIDENT KIM GODWIN STEPS DOWN, TRUMP RESPONDS
Echoes of those discussions ripple outward from pools to weight lifting rooms and tracks, to cycling courses and rugby pitches, and to the Olympics, where officials face a fateful conclusion on how wide to open the door to transgender women.
Sebastian Coe, the Olympic champion runner and head of World Athletics, which governs international track, speaks of biological difference as inescapable. “Gender,” he announced recently, “cannot trump biology.”
Discover alternative ideas that will make you think
Engage in mind bending debate
Earn points, rise in rank, have fun
