World Athletics mandates gene tests for female category eligibility

[Celerity]

Regulations come into effect for world championships

‘The test is a very important step,’ says Sebastian Coe

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2025/jul/30/world-athletics-mandates-gene-tests-for-female-category-eligibility



Athletes will be eligible to compete in the female category for world-ranking competitions such as the world championships only if they clear a one-time gene test.

The test for the SRY gene, which needs to be taken only once and helps in determining biological sex, can be conducted via a cheek swab or blood test. World Athletics’ testing protocol will be overseen by member federations and the new regulations come into effect on 1 September, in time for that month’s world championships in Tokyo.

“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 World Athletics president, Sebastian Coe, said. “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.

“It was always very clear to me and the World Athletics Council that gender cannot trump biology. We particularly want to thank our member federations for their support and commitment in the implementation of these new regulations.”

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