The World Athletics Federation bans athletes who have undergone gender reassignment surgery from competing in the women’s event.
The World Athletics Federation announced on the 24th (Korean time), “Through the board of directors, it was decided that transgender athletes who had gone through puberty as men would not be allowed to participate in the women’s event at international competitions from the 31st of this month.”
The federation explained that it decided to continue discussions by forming a working group to specifically determine the eligibility for transgender players.
In addition, the World Association of Athletics Federations has strengthened the entry criteria for athletes called ‘DSD 스포츠토토(Differences of Sexual Development) athletes’.
Previously, the federation set the criteria for participation in women’s events in 400m, 400m hurdles, 800m, 1500m, and 1 mile (1.61km) at less than 5 nmol/L of testosterone. Normal adult female testosterone levels range from 0.12 to 0.179 nmol/L and males range from 7.7 to 29.4 nmol/L.
There were no hormone-related regulations for other events, but from the 31st of this month, all women’s events require a testosterone level of 2.5 nmol/L or less for 24 months to participate.
The World Athletics Federation decided to put a grace period on the application of the rule. DSD athletes who currently compete in events under 400m and over 1 mile can qualify for the women’s event by maintaining their testosterone below 2.5nmol/L for six months.
The representative DSD athlete in track and field is Caster Semenya (South Africa).
Although never disclosed to the public, most experts estimate Semenya’s testosterone levels to be between 7 and 10 nmol/L.
Semenya was able to participate in events under 400m and over 1 mile without hormone restrictions, but now, to compete in international competitions, male hormones must be suppressed.
Semenya, who won gold medals in the women’s 800m at London 2012 and Rio de Janeiro 2016, tried to compete at Tokyo 2020 by switching to 200m and 5000m to avoid male hormone restrictions, but she passed the standard record. I couldn’t.
At last year’s World Championships in Eugene, Oregon, USA, she competed in the 5000 m, but she finished 28th in the heats.
Sebastian Coe, president of the World Association of Athletics Federations, said, “It is always difficult to make decisions when the demands and rights of different groups collide. We are approaching the issue based on scientific research on the benefits and performance of his career.”