World Athletics is set to implement stricter regulations for transgender and difference of sex development (DSD) athletes, introducing a pioneering cheek swab test requirement for elite athletes competing in the female category.
The new recommendations, based on recent scientific findings, emerge from research indicating that male physical advantages exist even before puberty. This builds upon the organization’s March 2023 rules, which already prohibited individuals who underwent male puberty from competing in female categories due to maintained advantages in strength, endurance, power, and lung capacity.
The governing body seeks to strengthen its policy further, citing “new evidence which clarifies there is already an athletically significant performance gap before the onset of puberty.” According to World Athletics, the pre-pubertal performance gap in athletics ranges from 3 to 5% in running events and is even more pronounced in throwing and jumping disciplines.
Sebastian Coe, World Athletics president, explained: “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.”
The most notable proposed change is the introduction of a one-time, non-invasive cheek swab test for elite female category athletes. “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 stated in its consultation document.
Currently, DSD athletes can compete in female categories if they maintain testosterone levels below 2.5 n/mol. However, World Athletics now suggests applying identical rules to both DSD and transgender athletes, noting that “new evidence has also clarified that testosterone suppression in 46XY DSD and 46XY transgender individuals can only ever partly mitigate the overall male advantage in the sport of athletics.”
The organization reports strong opposition from both the general public and elite female athletes regarding XY athletes competing in female categories. These recommendations are currently under stakeholder review and are expected to be implemented later this year.
