The athletics association World Athletics decided on Thursday that trans women will be banned from competitions from March 31 if they have gone through puberty as a boy.
Trans women who went through puberty as boys will no longer be allowed to participate in World Athletics competitions from March 31. Until today they had to demonstrate that the amount of testosterone remained below a threshold value for a long time, but that is now being done away with. According to World Athletics, there are currently no trans women participating in international competitions.
Inclusiveness vs. unfair competition
The athletics association also decided to tighten the rules for women with differences in gender development (DSD). To participate, they must stay below the limit of 2.5 nanomoles of testosterone per liter of plasma for at least two years. This now applies to all distances, not just those that have already been limited today (400 meters to one mile).
The decision affects athletes with DSD such as Caster Semenya, Francine Niyonsaba and Christine Mboma. South African Semenya is a two-time Olympic champion in the 800 metres. The Burundian Niyonsaba was second in the 800 meters in 2016, after Semenya. Both Semenya and Niyonsaba were not allowed to start at the Games in Japan.
Caster Semenya.
Photo: Belgian
Christine Mboma, from Namibia, won silver in the 200 meters in Tokyo. In the 400 meters she was excluded from participation.
Jamaican trans woman CeCe Telfer wanted to qualify for the 400 meters hurdles at the Olympics, but her permission to participate was withdrawn. In 2019, she became the first trans woman to win an NCAA title. The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) organizes sports competitions for college students in the US.
Transgender rights have become an important point of discussion. The world of sport seeks a balance between inclusiveness and the prevention of unfair competition. According to LGBTI organizations, excluding trans athletes amounts to discrimination.
After swimming
The international swimming federation World Aquatics has already done so: last year it agreed to limit the participation of trans athletes in women’s competitions. At the time, Sebastian Coe, the current president of World Athletics, praised the sport’s governing body for that decision. Women who went through male puberty have since been banned from swimming. A scientific panel had concluded that they enjoy a lasting benefit even if they lower their testosterone levels with medication.
A study in the journal Sports Medicine concluded that the biological effects of testosterone during puberty are the main explanation for the different sports performance of men and women. The available scientific research shows that lowering the testosterone levels of adult trans athletes has little effect on strength, muscle and bone density.
To keep the sport fair for women, the authors called on sports federations to review the rules. They did argue against a universal ban, because physical characteristics are not decisive for success in all sports. The World Aquatics swimming federation set up a working group to establish an ‘open’ category.
In January, World Athletics indicated that it had consulted with member associations to change the rules for transgender women to participate. We will follow the science to protect the female category, maintain fairness in our competitions and remain as inclusive as possible.
71 percent of national federations voted in favor of the new World Athletics rules. A working group should investigate the matter further. “We’re not saying ‘no’ forever,” said chairman Sebastian Coe.
