Transgender women will no longer be allowed to participate in world ranking competitions in the women’s category following going through male puberty, regardless of their current testosterone levels. As World Athletic (WA) announced, the exclusion will apply from March 31st.
Before the decision was made, consultations were held with various interest groups and with the International Olympic Committee.
“It became clear that the option first presented to stakeholders, requiring transgender athletes to maintain their testosterone levels below 2.5 nmol/L for 24 months in order to compete internationally in the female category, was within of the sport found little support,” the WA statement said.
World Athletics also decided to lower the allowable blood testosterone levels for people with differential sex development (DSD), such as two-time 800m Olympic gold medalist Caster Semenya of South Africa. The testosterone level in DSD athletes must drop from five to below 2.5 nanomoles per liter and remain below this value for two years instead of one year so that they can compete internationally in the women’s class. This now applies to all disciplines and no longer just to running distances of 400 m to one mile.
World President Sebastian Coe said a majority of respondents said “transgender athletes should not compete in the female category.” Many believe there is not enough evidence that trans women do not have advantages over biological women. As soon as there is more evidence, “we will review our position. But we believe that the integrity of the women’s category in athletics is paramount,” said Coe.
Last June, the World Swimming Federation (FINA) decided to exclude transgender women from elite competitions if they have gone through part of male puberty.
