World Athletics to introduce genetic testing to assess transgender athlete participation

In a move to combat trans athlete participation in its events, World Athletics has advised that it will introduce genetic testing for female athletes to verify biological sex.

While no timeline has been confirmed for the testing, the Press Association says that World Athletics is aiming to have it in place for September's World Championships in Tokyo.

The testing will require those wishing to compete in women's athletic events needing to complete a "pre-clearance requirement" once in their career. In practice, it will likely include cheek swabs or blood tests.

Reporting on issue, the BBC advised “the test will look for the SRY gene which is part of the Y chromosome and causes male characteristics to develop.”

World Athletics said the test was "a highly accurate proxy for biological sex" that would need to be taken just once by an athlete during their career.

The move is among several recommendations that have been approved at the World Athletics Council meeting to tighten regulations over the eligibility of transgender and difference of sex development (DSD) athletes.

Advising that the decision was further evidence that federation would "doggedly" protect the female category, World Athletics President, Lord Coe (pictured below) stated “it's important to do it because it maintains everything that we've been talking about, and particularly recently, about not just talking about the integrity of female women's sport, but actually guaranteeing it.

"We feel this is a really important way of providing confidence and maintaining that absolute focus on the integrity of competition."

Two years ago, World Athletics banned transgender athletes who had gone through male puberty from competing in the female category in international competition.

Its most recent move follows a consultation that saw a majority of stakeholders agreeing “that allowing only biological female athletes to compete in the female category was essential to maintaining fairness.”

Last month, its working group recommended further steps based on new evidence which it said showed there was a "significant performance gap before the onset of puberty".

In addition, World Athletics will also merge regulations for both DSD and transgender athletes after the working group said new evidence showed testosterone suppression "can only ever partly mitigate the overall male advantage in the sport of athletics".

IOC President-elect Coventry not ruling out sex testing
Newly-elected International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Kirsty Coventry, who beat Lord Coe to that role last week, told Sky News after her appointment that she was not ruling out sex testing, saying: "This is a conversation that's happened and the international federations have taken a far greater lead in this conversation.

"We know in equestrian sex is really not an issue, but in other sports it is.

"So what I'd like to do again is bring the international federations together and sit down and try and come up with a collective way forward for all of us to move."

Ban on Russian and Belarusian athletes 'adequate'
During their meeting in China this week, the World Athletics Council also approved a recommendation that the current sanctions on Russian and Belarusian athletes are "adequate".

Competitors from the two countries have been banned from World Athletics events, including under a neutral flag, since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.