The World Athletics Council announced Wednesday that any athlete wishing to compete in the female categories of the World Championships will be required to undergo a "once-in-a-lifetime test" to determine eligibility.
The athletes will be required to undergo a test for the SRY gene, which the organization says is "a reliable proxy for determining biological sex." The SRY gene is attached to the Y chromosome and triggers the development of male reproductive organs. The test will be conducted either by a cheek swab or a blood test.
“The philosophy that we hold dear in World Athletics is the protection and the promotion of the integrity of women's sport," said World Athletics President Sebastian Coe in a press release. "It is really important in a sport that is permanently trying to attract more women that they enter a sport believing there is no biological glass ceiling. The test to confirm biological sex is a very important step in ensuring this is the case."
The testing will be supervised by Member Federations as they prepare their athletes and their teams for the upcoming World Athletics Championships in Tokyo. The new regulation will take effect on September 1, less than two weeks before the championships begin on September 13, 2025.
Coe, who had potential to become the International Olympic Committee chief, recommended in November that the Olympics also needed a clear policy in order to protect women's sports. World Athletics' policies exclude biological men who have undergone puberty from competing in the female category of track and field events around the globe.
“We are saying, at elite level, for you to compete in the female category, you have to be biologically female," said Coe. "It was always very clear to me and the World Athletics Council that gender cannot trump biology."
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