World Athletics Implements New Restrictions On Transgender Athletes Competing In Female Events
World Athletics announced this morning that they are tightening their requirements on male-to-female transgender athletes competing in female sporting competitions.
The sports federation announced its new regulations in a press release on its website. The new policy states that male-to-female athletes are excluded from competing in the female category if the individual has already gone through male puberty.
In their press release, World Athletics acknowledged that transgender women have significant physical advantages when competing against biological women. It also expressed that the policy change came due to backlash and a lack of support among athletes regarding their former requirements. Previously, World Athletics only required transgender women to maintain a specific testosterone level for 24 months to be eligible for competition.
“It became apparent that there was little support within the sport for the option that was first presented to stakeholders, which required transgender athletes to maintain their testosterone levels below 2.5nmol/L for 24 months to be eligible to compete internationally in the female category.“
World Athletics Press Release
The policy change is expected to face public resentment from transgender activists. However, World Athletics President Sebastian Cole has reiterated that the organization will make decisions based on science, not politics.
“Decisions are always difficult when they involve conflicting needs and rights between different groups, but we continue to take the view that we must maintain fairness for female athletes above all other considerations. We will be guided in this by the science around physical performance and male advantage, which will inevitably develop over the coming years. As more evidence becomes available, we will review our position, but we believe the integrity of the female category in athletics is paramount.”
World Athletics President Sebastian Cole
World Athletics is the governing body for several track and field events including sprints, middle/long, hurdles, road running, jumps, throws, combined events, race walks, relays, cross country, mountain running, ultra running, and trail running. Currently, there are no transgender athletes competing internationally in events sanctioned by the organization. But the policy change is a preemptive measure as it becomes more popular for biological male athletes to identify as transgender and compete in female events.
The World Athletics Council’s decision comes in the midst of numerous sporting organizations trying to decide how they should move forward with policies and regulations regarding transgender athletes. USA Powerlifting, for example, recently lost a years-long court battle that resulted in transgender females being allowed to compete in the women’s division.
Athletes and fans are growing more impatient at the allowance of biological men competing against women. This policy change shows that these organizations will right this wrong if they are faced with enough public scrutiny.
