Lisa Curry recounts her Olympics "gender test" ordeal
On Friday, the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics will begin and swimming legend Lisa Curry has opened up about her own experiences competing in the games, and how she had to take a "gender test" in 1992.
"Found this yesterday and thought it would be fun to do a show and tell of a few past stories leading up to Fridays Opening Ceremony of the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris," she shared on Instagram alongside a photo of the gender certificate she received.
"This was a card given to all athletes competing in 1992 Barcelona after they completed a 'gender test'," she continued.
"I wonder if they still do it?"
Curry, 61, was one of the golden girls of Australian swimming, representing the nation at three Olympics during a career that spanned 23 years.
The Olympian went on to explain that the man who signed her card was Alexandre de Merode, the head of the drug testing policy for the International Olympic Committee at the time.
De Merode had a controversial career after he was involved in a number of Olympic drug scandals at Los Angeles in 1984 and Seoul in 1988.
"This definitely surprised me… or does it?" Curry continued.
"And it was at these Barcelona Games where we swam against the Chinese swimmers," she added.
In the early 1990s, the Chinese swimmers began to dominate the pool and eventually won a lot of medals, however they were also notorious for doping with more than 40 Chinese swimmers failing drug tests during the decade.
In a follow up post, Curry showed off a special ring that she still wears to commemorate the Olympics, and recalled her training back in 1992.
"Morgan was a toddler when I competed in Barcelona and now when I’m looking after her babies, I remember the training, relentlessly, day in day out for the biggest moment of my life," she wrote.
"Competing as a mum of 2, and being in the best shape of my life was my career highlight," she added.
"This Olympic ring has been on my little finger for 32 years. It’s a reminder of the dedication, perseverance and resilience you need to keep going, even when you don’t have anything left in the tank."
She then added a few words of encouragement for all the athletes competing in the Olympics, before adding: "Only some will win, but the opportunity you get to be an Olympian and call yourself an Olympian is forever."
Images: Instagram