World Athletics is set to introduce DNA testing for anyone participating in female competitions in order to verify their biological sex. They assert that this measure is essential to protect the integrity of women’s sport.
This policy is being implemented by Sebastian Coe, president of the governing body, as a way to address gender eligibility issues. It comes two years after World Athletics prohibited anyone assigned male at birth from competing in female events.
Lord Coe announced after a meeting of the World Athletics Council that they are considering using non-invasive procedures such as cheek swab or dry blood tests to determine biological sex. He explained that these tests would only need to be conducted once on an individual athlete.
“These tests are necessary for ensuring competition integrity,” he remarked.
The tests will identify whether a participant has transitioned from male to female or has a developmental irregularity that provides a competitive advantage.
World Athletics is now seeking providers of these tests.
Lord Coe said World Athletics could adopt non-invasive cheek swab tests or dry blood tests. File pic: Reuters
Lord Coe clarified: “The pre-clearance testing will determine eligibility for athletes to compete in the female category.
“The process is quite straightforward – clear, and it’s a crucial step. Timelines for implementation will be forthcoming.
“Neither of these tests are invasive. They are medically sanctioned and will be conducted to the highest medical standards.”
Following the lead of President Donald Trump, who called for the ban of transgender women from women’s events ahead of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, sports are increasingly adopting similar stances.
The International Olympic Committee has previously dismissed sex testing as a poor idea, but incoming IOC President Kirsty Coventry is open to discussing it, highlighting the need to protect the integrity of the female category.
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“This discussion has been ongoing, and now international federations have taken the lead in tackling this conversation,” said Kirsty Coventry, the next IOC president, in a statement to Sky News following her election last week.
“It’s my intention to gather a group with the international federations and discuss how each sport may differ in its approach towards this matter.
“Sports like equestrian seem less affected by biological sex, but that’s not the case in all sports,” she noted.
“So what I plan to do is convene the international federations to find a collective path forward that benefits everyone.”
Reem Alsalem, the UN’s special rapporteur on violence against women and girls, recently recommended that the IOC reintroduce sex testing for female athletes to protect them from potential competitive disadvantages and injuries due to eligibility issues.
Introduced in 1968 at the Mexico Games, the IOC initially used “certificates of femininity” through chromosome tests. These were later deemed unreliable and discontinued before the Sydney 2000 Games.
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