By Haika Mrema
World Athletics announced a new regulation on July 30 that will require athletes to undergo a one-time genetic test to be eligible to compete in the female category at its world-ranking events in racing and track and field.
The policy, which takes effect Sept. 1, mandates testing for the SRY gene, a key marker located on the Y chromosome that determines male sex in humans and most mammals.
The testing protocol will apply to athletes in elite competitions overseen by World Athletics, including the upcoming World Championships in Tokyo. Athletes must complete the SRY test via a cheek swab or blood sample. National federations will be responsible for administering the process.
World Athletics President Sebastian Coe defended the decision, calling it essential for safeguarding fairness in women’s sports.
“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,” Coe said in a statement. “The test to confirm biological sex is a very important step in ensuring this is the case.
“We are saying, at elite level, for you to compete in the female category, you have to be biologically female,” he added.
The policy is part of a broader set of eligibility requirements that World Athletics has implemented in recent years amid ongoing debates over fairness and biological advantages in women’s sports.
In 2023, the organization barred trans-identifying athletes who had gone through male puberty from participating in female categories. Additionally, athletes with differences of sex development whose bodies produce elevated levels of testosterone have been required to medically reduce those levels to remain eligible.
A working group convened by World Athletics this year concluded that previous rules did not go far enough to ensure fairness. The group recommended the SRY test as one of several revisions to tighten eligibility standards.
“The philosophy that we hold dear in World Athletics is the protection and the promotion of the integrity of women’s sport,” Coe said. “It was always very clear to me and the World Athletics Council that gender cannot trump biology.”
The SRY gene test has also been adopted by World Boxing, which approved mandatory sex testing for all competitors this year. According to World Athletics, the test will be required only once, and the organization emphasized that it will not infringe on personal gender identity, nor will it involve any requirement for surgery.
The updated regulations are scheduled to be enforced ahead of the World Championships in Tokyo, which begin Sept. 13.
