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≡ GENDER TESTING NOW ≡
“All athletes wishing to compete in the female category at the World Championships are required to undergo a once-in-a-lifetime test for the SRY gene – a reliable proxy for determining biological sex. This is to be conducted via a cheek swab or blood test, whichever is more convenient.
“The testing protocol will be overseen by Member Federations as they prepare their athletes and teams for the Championships in Tokyo.”
Wednesday’s announcement stated that the regulations will come into effect on 1 September, meaning they will be in force for the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo (JPN) from 13-21 September.
Said World Athletics President Sebastian Coe (GBR):
“We are saying, at elite level, for you to compete in the female category, you have to be biologically female. It was always very clear to me and the World Athletics Council that gender cannot trump biology.”
An accompanying question-and-answer document added some important details:
● “Athletes wishing to compete in the female category need to take the SRY test just once in their lifetime. If their SRY test is negative for the Y chromosome (i.e. the Y chromosome is absent) then they are eligible to compete in the female category in all world ranking competitions.
“If their test result is positive for the Y chromosome (i.e. shows presence of the Y chromosome) they can compete in the female category in non-world ranking competitions or in another category other than the female category.”
● “The SRY test is extremely accurate and the risk of false negative or positive is extremely unlikely. When the sample collection is properly conducted and the laboratory uses an FDA or CE In-vitro Diagnosis kit relying on Quantitative Fluorescent Polymerase Chain Reaction, the accuracy of this test is extremely high with very good sensitivity and specificity.”
● “Once a laboratory has received an athlete’s cheek swab or blood sample it can take between one and two weeks for the sample to be analysed and the results issued. This depends on the country and the laboratory. It is important to know this information so an athlete can get their cheek swab/blood sample carried out as soon as possible.”
● “In the short-term and for the World Athletics Championships Tokyo 25, Member Federations will be conducting the tests for their athletes, in the same way, and perhaps using the same provider, as they did when they carried out their Covid19 swab tests in 2020 and 2021. World Athletics will contribute up to US$100 per test for athletes competing in Tokyo.”
The regulations also include a provision for athletes with differences in sex development (DSD), specifically allowing participation in the women’s category for “Biological males with a difference of sex development who satisfy the transitional provisions issued by World Athletics.”
The Q&A document noted:
“The position is that a very small number of known DSD athletes eligible to compete under the current regulations would be eligible for the remainder of their career provided they continue to maintain their testosterone below 2.5 nmol/L.”
Observed: This is an important step for athletics and for the Olympic-sport world as World Athletics has been at the forefront of action and research in this area.
Too, it comes not only at an important point in the season – the U.S. championships start Thursday in Eugene, Oregon – but in advance of the International Olympic Committee’s effort to “protect the female category.” The SRY-gene test was called for by some of the IOC Presidential candidates and will be part of the discussions led by new IOC chief Kirsty Coventry (ZIM) in the coming weeks.
The World Athletics position also lines up with the recommendation of the United Nations Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls, Reem Alsalem (JOR) for sex-screening tests from October 2024.
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