Historic change in Athletics: mandatory biological sex test to compete

The World Athletics Federation (WAF) announced an unprecedented measure that will take effect starting September 1, ahead of the Tokyo World Championships. All athletes who wish to compete in the women's category will be required to undergo blood or cheek swab tests to confirm their biological sex.

The test (known as the SRY test) will be supervised by member federations and will be conducted only once in the athlete's lifetime. If the result doesn't detect the Y chromosome, they will be allowed to participate in the women's division of any international competition. If the result is positive for the Y chromosome, they will only be able to compete in mixed or non-women's categories, except in local or national qualifying tournaments.

The decision is part of an effort to protect fairness in women's sports and put an end to controversies surrounding the inclusion of transgender athletes, which sparked debate at the last Olympic Games.

WAF president Sebastian Coe justified the resolution with a strong message: "The philosophy is to protect and promote the integrity of women's sports. It's truly important in a sport that is constantly trying to attract more women to believe that there is no biological glass ceiling".

He added: "To compete in the women's division, one must be biologically female. For me and for the World Athletics Council, it has always been very clear that gender can't prevail over biology".

The implementation of the test

The Federation emphasized that the regulation will be implemented while respecting individual rights and highlighted four commitments:

• They will not judge or question the athletes' gender identity.
• They will safeguard the dignity, privacy, and confidentiality of those involved.
• They will strictly comply with data protection laws.
• They will not require or impose any type of surgical intervention.

The measure marks a turning point in elite athletics and promises to generate intense debate in the sports and social spheres, less than a year before the World Championships.