World Athletics Council (WAC), the governing body for athletic events worldwide, recently, voted to ban transgender women who have undergone male puberty, from participating in elite female competitions. This is in a bid to protect the ‘future of the female category,’ according to the governing body.
Seb Coe president of the World Athletics said that his sport had been protected and governed by the universal principle of fairness.
“We believe the integrity of the female category in athletics is paramount,” Coe said
The president of the athletics association who spoke after the ruling, which comes into effect on 31 March, noted that the decision may be contentious, but said that it was important to analyse the situation based on the science around physical performance and male advantage.
However, Coe also stressed that he would set up a working group that would consult with transgender athletes and review any fresh research that emerged. “We’re not saying no forever,” he said.
Over the years, the issue of transgender participation has been an unpleasant and unsettling issue, especially after the New Zealand weight lifter, Laurel Hubbard, who transitioned in her 30s, qualified for the Tokyo Olympics.
Since Tokyo, most sports have opted to allow trans women to compete if they lower their testosterone to 5 nanomoles per litre for 12 months. However emerging science showing that transgender women retain an advantage in strength, endurance, power, lung capacity, even after suppressing testosterone, had led World Athletics to propose a lower testosterone limit for at least 24 months in January.
Coe said there was “little support” for such a policy, with athletes and federations making it clear they wanted to prioritise fairness for female sport over inclusion.
Coe said that the World Athletics had ban transgender women from female sport, following World Rugby three years ago and World Swimming and the Rugby Football League last year. Swimming’s decision came shortly after Lia Thomas, who had been a moderate college swimmer as a male competitor in the United States, won an NCAA national college female title in 2022.
World Athletics’ decision is likely to be opposed by LGBTQ+ groups who last month, urged sports to be as inclusive as possible.