World Athletics has introduced a new gene test requirement for anyone wishing to compete in the female category at world-ranking athletics events.
This decision follows the controversy surrounding Algerian boxer Imane Khelif, who, despite being raised as a girl, was disqualified from the 2023 World Championships due to failing an undisclosed gender eligibility test.
Despite this setback, Khelif was permitted to participate in the 2024 Olympic Games, with the Olympic Committee emphasizing that “every person has the right to practise sport without discrimination.”
World Athletics has now announced a specific test for athletes seeking to compete in the female category.
The organization revealed in a press release dated July 30 that its council has sanctioned regulations mandating: “All athletes wishing to compete in the female category at the World Championships are required to undergo a once-in-a-lifetime test for the SRY gene – a reliable proxy for determining biological sex.”
“This test can be done via a cheek swab or blood sample, depending on convenience.”
These regulations will be effective from September 1, just ahead of the World Athletics Championships set to begin in Tokyo on September 13.
Member Federations will oversee the testing process as teams gear up for the championships.
Reflecting on the regulations and the SRY test, World Athletics President Sebastian Coe stated: “The philosophy that we hold dear in World Athletics is the protection and the promotion of the integrity of women’s sport. It is really important in a sport that is permanently trying to attract more women that they enter a sport believing there is no biological glass ceiling.”
“The test to confirm biological sex is a very important step in ensuring this is the case.”
Coe further elaborated: “We are saying, at elite level, for you to compete in the female category, you have to be biologically female. It was always very clear to me and the World Athletics Council that gender cannot trump biology.”
“We particularly want to thank our Member Federations for their support and commitment in the implementation of these new regulations.”
The release outlines criteria for the female category, including biological females, biological males who have ‘not gone through male sexual development including any type of male puberty’, and biological males ‘with a difference of sex development who satisfy the transitional provisions issued by World Athletics’.
“Biological females who have used testosterone as part of male gender-affirming treatment further to a Therapeutic Use Exemption granted in accordance with World Athletics’ Anti-Doping Rules may not compete in the female category until the passing of a period of time after their last use of testosterone,” the release states.
It further explains that the transitional provisions do not apply to transgender women, as none are currently competing at the elite international level under existing regulations.