It is a non-invasive, simple evidence based test

World Athletics is set to take further measures to ensure the protection and promotion of female athletes.  

The organisation introduced a policy in 2023 that meant all males who wished to participate in the women’s category must provide evidence of lowered testosterone. 

Now they are going a step further and are proposing a simple, noninvasive cheek swab to determine female eligibility. 

The recommendations from the World Athletics council are based on recent scientific research, which it says shows the male advantage exists even before puberty.

Under World Athletics’ existing rules, introduced in March 2023 anyone who has undergone male puberty is barred from the female category – after research reported that trans women retained an advantage in strength, endurance, power and lung capacity, even after taking medication to suppress their testosterone.

However, World Athletics now wants to further toughen its policy because of “new evidence which clarifies there is already an athletically significant performance gap before the onset of puberty”.

The track and field governing body said: “The childhood or pre‑pubertal performance gap in the sport of athletics specifically is 3 to 5% in running events, and higher in throwing and jumping events. New evidence establishes that athletic disadvantages associated with female body structure and physiology contribute to the performance gap.”

Sebastian Coe, the World Athletics president, said the move was designed to “ensure that our guidelines keep up with the latest information available to maintain a fair and level playing field in the female category”. He said: “Preserving the integrity of competition in the female category is a fundamental principle of the sport of athletics and we look forward to this collaborative consultation process with our key stakeholders in this area.”

This is a fantastic evidence-based test that will ensure the protection of the women’s category in athletics. The whole reason there are separate divisions in the first place is to protect the safety, fairness and dignity of females.

No male should ever be entitled to participate in female sport. He can participate in the male category, or the open, mixed category if available.

Women’s sport should only ever be for women only.