World Athletics has announced a new consultation process to strengthen its rules around transgender athletes and the difference in sexual development (DSD), including the possibility of introducing a cheek swab test.
The governing body prohibited athletes who had undergone male puberty is forced to compete in the women's category, while launching a working group to study the problem.
The working group issued recommendations on Monday, indicating that the new evidence has made it clear that “an exclusive approach to male puberty is wrong.”
“The new evidence clarifies that there is already an atlectically significant performance gap before the start of puberty,” said World Athletics.
“The children's or prepubertal performance gap in the sport of athletics is specifically 3 to 5% in race events, and higher in launch and jump events.”
“The new evidence establishes that the athletic disadvantages associated with the structure of the female body and physiology contribute to the performance gap.”
World Athletics has announced a consultation on new regulations for transgender and sexual development athletes (DSD)
Five recommendations have been submitted, including formally affirming the design and objectives for the women's category, reviewing the online eligibility regulations with the objectives and melting the DSD and Transgender regulations.
The governing body has also recommended adopting a prerequisite of cleaning for all athletes competing in the women's category, and considering advanced initiatives, including support for elite gender athletes.
World athletics proposes as the prerequisite to cleaning 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 necessary, testosterone levels, either through the thickness with any necessary monitoring or by analysis of dry blood stains,” said World Athletics.
“In this context, the SRY gene, which is almost always on the chromosome and is used as a highly precise proxy for biological sex, but leaves room for an additional diagnosis process to discretion of the athlete.”
World Athletics highlighted a special report from the UN General Assembly last October, which recommended a 'dignified, fast, non -invasive and precise (as a cheek swab) or, when necessary, when necessary, by Exceptional reasons, genetic tests'.
The recommendation occurred in response to unanimously against testosterone suppression requirements, but support for an exclusive woman category.
The recommendations would also see DSD athletes, such as Double Olympic Champion Champion Casteter Semeya, placed under the same rules as transgender athletes.
DSD athletes can currently compete in global athletics events, provided they have lowered their testosterone below 2.5 nmol/L for at least six months.
The president of World Athletics, Sebastian Coe, said the governing body is ensuring that their guidelines are kept up to date with the last scientific information available.
DSD athletes, such as Casteter Semeya, would be placed under the same set of rules as transgender athletes
The working group recommended that world athletics adopt measures to address reasonable dependency interests of those who are currently in process.
“World Athletics is a leader in preserving the female category in sport and one of the first international sports federations to establish clear policies about female eligibility in elite sport,” said Sebastian Coe, president of World Athletics.
'While our current eligibility regulations for DSD and transgender athletes are robust and based on science available at the time of our last consultation, several scientific developments have emerged in this field since then and it is our role, as the global government body For athletics. , to ensure that our guidelines are kept up to date with the most recent information available to maintain a fair and playing field in the women's category.
“Preserving the integrity of competition in the women's category is a fundamental principle of the sport of athletics and we expect this process of collaboration consultation with our key interested parties in this area.”
World Athletics stated that the consultation period will take place until March 5.
The recommendations occur a few days after the recent executive order of President Donald Trump that prohibits the transgender women of women's sports in the United States.
The International Olympic Committee also faces legal actions of the International Boxing Association on allowing two gender boxers to compete in the Olympic Games of Paris 2024 last year.
COE is one of the seven candidates looking for elections such as the next president of the IOC next month, and has accused the organization of lacking a clear transgender policy.
The fellow candidate Kirsty Coventry has also supported an Olympic gender policy that would prevent transgender women from competing in female categories.