World Athletics has announced a new consultation process to strengthen its rules around transgender and difference of sex development (DSD) athletes, including the possibility of introducing a cheek swab test.
The governing body banned athletes who had undergone male puberty is barred from competing in the female category, while launching a working group to study the issue.
The working group issued recommendations on Monday, stating that new evidence has made it clear ‘an exclusive focus on male puberty is wrong’.
‘New evidence clarifies that there is already an athletically significant performance gap before the onset of puberty,’ World Athletics said.
‘The childhood or pre‑pubertal performance gap in the sport of athletics specifically is 3 to 5% 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.’
World Athletics have announced a consultation on new regulations for transgender and difference of sex development (DSD) athletes
Five recommendations have been put forward, including formally affirming the design and goals for the female category, revising eligibility regulations in line with the goals, and merging the DSD and transgender regulations.
The governing body has also recommended adopting a pre-clearance requirement for all athletes competing in the female category, and considering forward initiatives, including supporting elite gender diverse XY athletes.
World Athletics proposes as the pre-clearance requirement that athletes would have to undergo a cheek swab test for the SRY gene.
‘The required test will be for the SRY gene and, if required, testosterone levels, either via cheek swab with any necessary follow-up or via dry blood spot analysis,’ World Athletics said.
‘In this context, the SRY gene, which is almost always on the Y chromosome, is used as a highly accurate proxy for biological sex but makes room for an additional diagnostic process at the athlete’s discretion.’
World Athletics highlighted a Special Rapporteur’s report to the UN General Assembly last October, which recommended a ‘dignified, swift, non-invasive and accurate sex screening method (such as a cheek swab) or, where necessary for exceptional reasons, genetic testing’.
The recommendation came in response to being unanimously against testosterone suppression requirements but support for an exclusive Female category.
Recommendations would also see female DSD athletes, such as double Olympic 800-metre champion Caster Semenya, placed under the same rules as transgender athletes.
Female athletes with DSD can currently compete in World Athletics events, provided they have lowered their testosterone below 2.5 nmol/L for at least six months.
World Athletics president Sebastian Coe said the governing body is ensuring its guidelines keep up with the latest scientific information available
Athletes with DSD, such as Caster Semenya, would be placed under the same set of rules as transgender athletes
The working group recommended World Athletics adopt measures to address the reasonable reliance interests of those who are currently in the pipeline.
‘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,’ said Sebastian Coe, World Athletics president.
‘While our current Eligibility Regulations for DSD and Transgender athletes are robust and based on the science available at the time of our last consultation, several scientific developments in this field have emerged since then and it is our role, as the global governing body for athletics, to ensure that our guidelines keep up with the latest information available to maintain a fair and level-playing field in the Female Category.
‘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.’
World Athletics stated the consultation period will take place until March 5.
The recommendations come just days after President Donald Trump’s recent executive order banning transgender women from female sports in the USA.
The International Olympic Committee is also facing legal action from the International Boxing Association over allowing two gender-row boxers to compete at last year’s Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
Coe is one of seven candidates seeking election as the next IOC president next month, and has accused the organisation of lacking a clear transgender policy.
Fellow candidate Kirsty Coventry has also backed an Olympic-wide gender policy that would prevent transgender women from being able to compete in female categories.
