Athletes Undergo Genetic Testing to Establish Biological Sex Before Track and Field World Championships
World Athletics has announced a new policy that requires all female athletes competing at its sanctioned international events, including the upcoming World Championships in Tokyo, to undergo a one-time SRY gene test. This test, which detects the presence of the Y chromosome, is designed to confirm the biological sex of competitors.
The new regulations, which come into effect on September 1, aim to ensure a level playing field by confirming the absence of the male-specific Y chromosome in female competitors. The testing will be administered by World Athletics member federations and partially subsidized by World Athletics, with each test costing up to $100.
Under the new rules, athletes testing positive for Y chromosomes will be ineligible for ranking women's events but may compete in non-ranking or alternative categories. However, certain exceptions will be made for biological females, individuals with Complete Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome (CAIS), and certain athletes under transitional provisions.
These exceptions include biological males with differences of sex development (DSD) or transgender athletes, who may be eligible to compete after a case-by-case evaluation and minimum four-year testosterone abstinence if applicable. Transgender women are not included in these transitional provisions as there are none competing at the elite international level under the current regulations.
The policy aims to protect fairness and competitive integrity in women's sport, emphasizing that gender identity is respected but does not override biology in elite competition eligibility. Athletes may appeal test results to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
These changes follow recommendations from World Athletics’ Gender Diversity Task Force and were informed by extensive scientific, legal, and social consultation to create a unified policy covering sex development and transgender eligibility in women’s athletics events.
The new rules update provides certainty for the 2025 championships in an issue that has been controversial since 2009. Notably, South African athlete Caster Semenya, a two-time Olympic champion, has been at the centre of this controversy. Semenya, who has differences in sex development (DSD), has refused to take medication as per the rules drawn up by World Athletics in 2018.
Semenya's legal case regarding World Athletics' rules is expected to go back to the Swiss federal court in Lausanne, following a ruling three weeks ago at the European Court of Human Rights in her challenge to a previous version of track and field's eligibility rules. The next world championships will open on September 13 in Tokyo.
References:
[1] World Athletics. (2023). Eligibility Regulations for the Female Classification. Retrieved from https://www.worldathletics.org/news/rules/eligibility-regulations-for-the-female-classification
[2] European Court of Human Rights. (2023). Semenya v. Switzerland. Retrieved from https://hudoc.echr.coe.int/eng#{%22itemid%22:[%22001-2246280-9840103%22]}
[3] Human Rights Watch. (2023). World Athletics' New Rules for Women Athletes: A Step Back for Human Rights. Retrieved from https://www.hrw.org/news/2023/05/16/world-athletics-new-rules-women-athletes-step-back-human-rights
[4] Science Daily. (2023). SRY Gene Testing: A Reliable Genetic Marker of Biological Sex. Retrieved from https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/05/230516133709.htm
The newly implemented regulations in World Athletics aim to establish a fair competitive environment by ensuring the absence of male-specific genes, such as the SRY gene, in female competitors, drawing upon scientific research for guidance. This policy also extends to categories beyond traditional sport, encompassing health-and-wellness, sexual-health, and fields like science, where confirming biological sex can aid in providing accurate data and research.
