World Athletics planning amendments to female eligibility guidelines
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World Athletics president Sebastian Coe has said that it is vital for female eligibility guidelines to be updated as soon as there is development on the research in the topic.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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MONACO – World Athletics has begun a consultation period for an updated set of regulations for transgender and difference of sex development (DSD) athletes, with a cheek swab test among a number of proposals being considered, the governing body said on Feb 10.
In 2023, track and field’s global governing body voted to ban transgender women who have gone through male puberty from competing in women’s events and announced the formation of a working group to further study the issue of trans inclusion.
In the findings announced by the working group on Feb 10, it said exclusively basing the regulations on whether or not an athlete had gone through male puberty was wrong.
“New evidence clarifies that there is already an athletically significant performance gap before the onset of puberty,” it added.
“The childhood or pre-pubertal performance gap in the sport of athletics specifically is 3 to 5 per cent in running events, and higher in throwing and jumping events.
“New evidence establishes that athletic disadvantages associated with female body structure and physiology contribute to the performance gap.”
The working group laid out five recommendations, including formally affirming the design of the female category, revising eligibility regulations and adopting a pre-clearance requirement for all athletes competing in the category.
It also suggested putting female DSD athletes – like two-time Olympic 800m champion Caster Semenya – under the same set of rules as transgender athletes.
Under World Athletics’ current rules, female DSD athletes must lower their level of testosterone to below 2.5 nmol/L for at least six months to compete. This can be done medically or surgically.
“The current TG regulations exclude transgender women who have experienced male puberty, while the DSD regulations provide that XY DSD athletes with the same experience are included,” the working group said.
It recommended the use of a sex screening method like a cheek swab or dry blood spot analysis for athletes wishing to compete in the elite female category, which would test for the male-determining SRY gene.
The consultation period for the working group’s proposal began on Feb 10 and will continue until March 5.
World Athletics boss Sebastian Coe said it was vital for the guidelines to be updated.
“World Athletics is a leader in preserving the female category in sport and one of the first international sports federations to establish clear policies on female eligibility in elite sport,” he added.
“Preserving the integrity of competition in the female category is a fundamental principle of the sport of athletics and we look forward to this collaborative consultation process with our key stakeholders in this area.”
Transgender inclusion in sport has been widely discussed in recent weeks after United States President Donald Trump signed an executive order
In related news, the International Boxing Association (IBA) said it will take legal action against the International Olympic Committee (IOC) over the inclusion of Algeria’s Imane Khelif and Chinese Taipei’s Lin Yu-ting at the 2024 Olympic Games.
The two female boxers had been excluded from the IBA’s 2023 world championships after the fighters failed gender-eligibility tests, but the IOC cleared them to fight and both went on to win gold medals in Paris.
The IOC organised the boxing in the French capital following the expulsion of the IBA from the Olympic movement after financial and ethical irregularities.
In its statement, which linked its action to Mr Trump’s executive order, the IBA said that it is “filing an official complaint with the Attorney General of Switzerland”.
“President Trump’s order to ban transgender athletes from women’s sport validates IBA’s efforts to protect the integrity of female sports,” claimed IBA president Umar Kremlev.
Neither Khelif nor Lin are transgender women. Both were born and raised as women, which is how they are registered on their passports.
“This IBA statement is just another example of IBA’s campaign against the IOC,” the IOC said in response.
“The two female athletes mentioned by IBA are not transgender athletes. They were born as women, were raised as women and have competed in the women’s category for their entire boxing careers.” REUTERS, AFP
