Regardless of their testosterone levels, transgender women will no longer be permitted to compete in female track and field events, World Athletics president Sebastian Coe announced on Thursday, citing fairness over inclusion.
No transgender athlete who has experienced male puberty will be allowed to compete in female global ranking tournaments starting on March 31, according to Coe.
Coe stated that World Athletics had engaged with stakeholders over the subject of transgender athletes, including 40 national federations, the International Olympic Committee, and trans groups, after a meeting of the global track and field federation’s decision-making body.
“The majority of those consulted stated that transgender athletes should not be competing in the female category,” he said.
“Many believe there is insufficient evidence that trans women do not retain advantage over biological women and want more evidence that any physical advantages have been ameliorated before they are willing to consider an option for inclusion into the female category.”
He added: “The judgement we took… was, I believe, in the best interests of our sport.
A working group led by a transgender person, he said, would be established to keep an eye on scientific advancements.
“We’re not saying ‘no’ forever,” Coe said.
“Decisions are always difficult when they involve conflicting needs and rights between different groups, but we continue to take the view that we must maintain fairness for female athletes above all other considerations.
“We will be guided in this by the science around physical performance and male advantage which will inevitably develop over the coming years. As more evidence becomes available, we will review our position, but we believe the integrity of the female category in athletics is paramount.”
The option that was provided to stakeholders requires transgender athletes to maintain their testosterone levels below 2.5 nmol/L (nanomoles per liter of blood) for 24 months in order to be allowed to participate internationally in the female category, according to a statement from World Athletics.
“There are currently no transgender athletes competing internationally in athletics and consequently no athletics-specific evidence of the impact these athletes would have on the fairness of female competition in athletics.
“In these circumstances, the Council decided to prioritize fairness and the integrity of the female competition before inclusion.”
The decision of World Athletics follows that of FINA, the international governing body of swimming, which has prohibited transgender swimmers who had male puberty from participating in elite women’s races.
The first international sports body to declare transsexual males to females ineligible for participation in women’s elite and international competition was World Rugby in 2020.
The rules governing athletes designated as DSD, or having “differences of sexual development,” have also been modified by World Athletics.
Caster Semenya of South Africa, a two-time Olympic 800m winner, is the most well-known DSD athlete.
The new rules require DSD competitors to lower their blood testosterone levels to below 2.5 nanomoles per litre, down from the current requirement of five, and to maintain this level for two years, as opposed to only one as is the case currently, in order to compete in the female division.
In women, testosterone levels typically range from 0.5 to 2.4 nmol/l.
Moreover, World Athletics eliminated the concept of limited events for DSD athletes, which means that all events are now governed by regulations rather than just the 400m–1 mile ones that were previously watched.
