Foekje Dillema (18 September 1926 – 5 December 2007) was a Dutch

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

athlete.

Biography

Dillema was named "athlete of the match" in 1949 after winning the

100 metres The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been conteste ...

and

200 metres The 200 metres, or 200-meter dash, is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400 metre racetrack, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques is needed to successfully run the race. A slightl ...

race during a tournament in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. She was an important rival for another Dutch athlete

Fanny Blankers-Koen Francina "Fanny" Elsje Blankers-Koen (26 April 1918 – 25 January 2004) was a Dutch track and field athlete, best known for winning four gold medals at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London. She competed there as a 30-year-old mother of two, earn ...

, who won four

gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have bee ...

s during the

1948 Summer Olympics The 1948 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XIV Olympiad and also known as London 1948) were an international multi-sport event held from 29 July to 14 August 1948 in London, England, United Kingdom. Following a twelve-year hiatus ca ...

and who was voted "Female Athlete of the Century" by the

International Association of Athletics Federations World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation (from 1912 to 2001) and International Association of Athletics Federations (from 2001 to 2019, both abbreviated as the IAAF) is the international governing body for ...

(IAAF) in 1999. In 1950 Dillema was banned from competition for life by the IAAF. Dillema had refused to go to a mandatory sex test for the European championships in Brussels in August 1950. Dillema was the first subject of a mandatory gender verification. The IAAF introduced mandatory sex verification in 1950 and continued this practice until 1992. Dillema's national record of 24.1 seconds for the 200 metres was erased. On 13 July 1950, Dillema was stopped on her way to an international meeting in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

by the Dutch athletics authorities and expelled for life from competition. She returned home to

Friesland Friesland (, ; official fry, Fryslân ), historically and traditionally known as Frisia, is a province of the Netherlands located in the country's northern part. It is situated west of Groningen, northwest of Drenthe and Overijssel, north of ...

and did not leave her house for at least one year. She lived a quiet life in her home town afterwards and always refused to speak on the subject. Dillema, having the typical female

phenotype In genetics, the phenotype () is the set of observable characteristics or traits of an organism. The term covers the organism's morphology or physical form and structure, its developmental processes, its biochemical and physiological proper ...

, was designated female at birth, raised as a girl and lived her life as a woman. After her death a forensic test on body cells obtained from her clothing showed signs of a

Y-chromosome The Y chromosome is one of two sex chromosomes (allosomes) in therian mammals, including humans, and many other animals. The other is the X chromosome. Y is normally the sex-determining chromosome in many species, since it is the presence or abse ...

in her DNA. She may have been a genetic mosaic, having cells with either 46,XX (female) or 46,XY (male) chromosomes, in approximately a one-to-one ratio, in her skin. The forensic report speculated that Dillema developed from a zygote with an XXY genotype that promptly divided into a half XX, half XY embryo through

nondisjunction Nondisjunction is the failure of homologous chromosomes or sister chromatids to separate properly during cell division (mitosis/meiosis). There are three forms of nondisjunction: failure of a pair of homologous chromosomes to separate in meiosis I ...

. Dillema was probably a 46XX/46XY woman. This is also known as ovotesticular

disorder of sex development Disorders of sex development (DSDs), also known as differences in sex development, diverse sex development and variations in sex characteristics (VSC), are congenital conditions affecting the reproductive system, in which development of chromos ...

(DSD) or

true hermaphroditism True hermaphroditism, sometimes referred to as ovotesticular syndrome, is an intersex condition in which an individual is born with both ovarian and testicular tissue. Commonly, one or both gonad A gonad, sex gland, or reproductive gland i ...

.Andere Tijden Sport – Het mysterie Foekje Dillema. NOS Dutch broadcast 2008 Her biographer Max Dohle concludes that Dillema, having a Y-chromosome, would never have been allowed to race in the last 45 years. The

Barr body A Barr body (named after discoverer Murray Barr) or X-chromatin is an inactive X chromosome in a cell with more than one X chromosome, rendered inactive in a process called lyonization, in species with XY sex-determination (including humans ...

test (1966) as well as the test based on PCR (1992) scan for a Y-chromosome or an SRY-gene on the Y-chromosome. All female athletes with a Y-chromosome were expelled from competition from 1966 until 2011. At the end of the century, renowned institutions worldwide protested against the viewpoint of the

International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swiss ...

(IOC), causing the mandatory gender test based on the Y chromosome to be abandoned. In case of doubt, an athlete with a hyperandrogenic syndrome can still be tested, by a multidisciplinary medical team, during a large tournament like the Olympic Games. The IAAF and the IOC test

testosterone Testosterone is the primary sex hormone and anabolic steroid in males. In humans, testosterone plays a key role in the development of Male reproductive system, male reproductive tissues such as testes and prostate, as well as promoting secondar ...

levels since May 2011. An athlete with hyperandrogenism not having CAIS will not be allowed to compete without suitable medical treatment. Dohle concludes that Dillema was an

intersex Intersex people are individuals born with any of several sex characteristics including chromosome patterns, gonads, or genitals that, according to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, "do not fit typical bina ...

individual who had ovotesticular DSD. She had an operation on her glands in 1952. During the operation, testes or ovotestes were removed. The SRY-gene on the Y is the testis determining factor, so Dillema may have had infertile testes or ovotestes palpable in her groin. These ovotestes produce more testosterone than ovaries. Higher testosterone levels were considered unfair towards the competition, despite being an entirely natural feature of Dillema's physiology.

References

Bibliography

Katrina Karkazis Katrina Alicia Karkazis (born 1970) is an anthropologist and bioethicist. She is a professor of Sexuality, Women's and Gender Studies at Amherst College. She was previously the Carol Zicklin Endowed Chair in the Honors Academy at Brooklyn College ...

Rebecca Jordan-Young Rebecca M. Jordan-Young (born 1963), is an American feminist scientist and gender studies scholar. Her research focuses on social medical science, sex, gender, sexuality, and epidemiology. She is an Associate Professor of Women’s, Gender, and ...

Georgiann Davis Georgiann Davis is an associate professor of sociology at the University of New Mexico and author of the book ''Contesting Intersex: The Dubious Diagnosis''. Davis formerly held similar positions at University of Nevada, Las Vegas and Southern I ...

and Silvia Caporesi. ''Out of Bounds? A Critique of the New Policies on Hyperandrogenism in Elite Female Athletes.'' The

American Journal of Bioethics The ''American Journal of Bioethics'' is a monthly peer-reviewed academic journal published by Taylor & Francis, covering all aspects of bioethics. It publishes target articles, open peer commentaries, editorials, book reviews, and case studies ...

, 12(7): 3–16, 2012 *Dohle, M. (2008) ''Het verwoeste leven van Foekje Dillema: de grootste tragedie uit de Nederlandse sportgeschiedenis'', Arbeiderspers, * Andere Tijden Sport – Het mysterie Foekje Dillema. NOS Dutch broadcast 2008

External links

Het kneuterige Nederland van Ben van Meerendonk

Foekje Dillema tribute
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dillema, Foekje 1926 births 2007 deaths Dutch female sprinters Sex verification in sports Sportspeople from Friesland People from Kollumerland Intersex sportspeople Intersex women LGBT sportspeople from the Netherlands LGBT track and field athletes Sportspeople banned for life Sports controversies Sports scandals in the Netherlands 20th-century LGBT people

Biography

See also

References

Bibliography

External links