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World Athletics gene test introduced for female category
World Athletics gene test introduced for female category

Al Jazeera

time30-07-2025

  • Sport
  • Al Jazeera

World Athletics gene test introduced for female category

Clarifying promised rules on female eligibility, track and field's governing body has set a deadline of September 1 for athletes to pass a gene test for competing at the world championships. World Athletics said in March it would require chromosome testing by cheek swabs or dry blood-spot tests for female athletes to be eligible for elite-level events. The next worlds open September 13 in Tokyo, and September 1 is 'the closing date for entries and the date the regulations come into effect,' World Athletics said in a statement on Wednesday. The latest rules update gives certainty for the 2025 championships in an issue that has been controversial on the track and in multiple courts since Caster Semenya won her first 800 metres world title as a teenager in 2009. Semenya won a ruling at the European Court of Human Rights three weeks ago in Strasbourg, France, in the South African star's years-long challenge to a previous version of track and field's eligibility rules affecting athletes with medical conditions known as 'differences in sex development'. The legal win, that she did not get a fair hearing at the Swiss supreme court, did not overturn track's rules. World Athletics drew up rules in 2018, forcing two-time Olympic champion Semenya and other athletes with DSD to suppress their elevated natural testosterone levels to be eligible for international women's events. Semenya refused to take medication. Now, the Monaco-based track body requires a 'once-in-a-lifetime test' to determine if it says athletes are biologically male with a Y chromosome. 'We are saying, at elite level, for you to compete in the female category, you have to be biologically female,' World Athletics President Sebastian Coe said. The governing body is covering up to $100 of the costs for each test with the protocol overseen by its member federations at the national level. Test results should be ready within two weeks. 'The SRY test is extremely accurate and the risk of false negative or positive is extremely unlikely,' World Athletics said. World Athletics has combined its eligibility framework for DSD and transgender athletes, with transitional rules that let 'a very small number of known DSD athletes' continue competing if they are taking medication to suppress natural testosterone. 'The transitional provisions do not apply to transgender women as there are none competing at the elite international level under the current regulations,' World Athletics said. Now age 34, and her track career effectively over, Semenya should now see her legal case go back to the Swiss federal court in Lausanne, where she lost her original appeal against track and field's rules at the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

Deadline for female eligibility gene tests ahead of track and field world championships
Deadline for female eligibility gene tests ahead of track and field world championships

National Post

time30-07-2025

  • Sport
  • National Post

Deadline for female eligibility gene tests ahead of track and field world championships

Clarifying promised rules on female eligibility, track and field's governing body set a Sept. 1 deadline Wednesday for athletes to pass a gene test for competing at the world championships. Article content World Athletics said in March it would require chromosome testing by cheek swabs or dry blood-spot tests for female athletes to be eligible for elite-level events. Article content Article content The next worlds open Sept. 13 in Tokyo and Sept. 1 is 'the closing date for entries and the date the regulations come into effect,' World Athletics said in a statement. Article content The latest rules update gives certainty for the 2025 championships in an issue that has been controversial on the track and in multiple courts since Caster Semenya won her first 800 meters world title as a teenager in 2009. Article content Semenya won a ruling at the European Court of Human Rights three weeks ago in Strasbourg, France, in the South Africa star's years-long challenge to a previous version of track and field's eligibility rules affecting athletes with medical conditions known as Differences in Sex Development. That legal win because she did not get a fair hearing at the Swiss supreme court did not overturn track's rules. Article content World Athletics drew up rules in 2018 forcing two-time Olympic champion Semenya and other athletes with DSD to suppress their elevated natural testosterone levels to be eligible for international women's events. Semenya refused to take medication. Article content Now, the Monaco-based track body requires a 'once-in-a-lifetime test' to determine athletes it says are biologically male with a Y chromosome. Article content 'We are saying, at elite level, for you to compete in the female category, you have to be biologically female,' World Athletics president Sebastian Coe said. Article content The governing body is covering up to $100 of the costs for each test with the protocol overseen by its member federations at national level. Test results should be ready within two weeks. Article content 'The SRY test is extremely accurate and the risk of false negative or positive is extremely unlikely,' World Athletics said. Article content World Athletics has combined its eligibility framework for DSD and transgender athletes, with transitional rules that let 'a very small number of known DSD athletes' continue competing if they are taking medication to suppress natural testosterone. Article content 'The transitional provisions do not apply to transgender women as there are none competing at the elite international level under the current regulations,' World Athletics said. Article content

Track and field sets Sept. 1 deadline for female eligibility gene tests ahead of worlds in Tokyo
Track and field sets Sept. 1 deadline for female eligibility gene tests ahead of worlds in Tokyo

Yahoo

time30-07-2025

  • Sport
  • Yahoo

Track and field sets Sept. 1 deadline for female eligibility gene tests ahead of worlds in Tokyo

MONACO (AP) — Clarifying promised rules on female eligibility, track and field's governing body set a Sept. 1 deadline Wednesday for athletes to pass a gene test for competing at the world championships. World Athletics said in March it would require chromosome testing by cheek swabs or dry blood-spot tests for female athletes to be eligible for elite-level events. The next worlds open Sept. 13 in Tokyo and Sept. 1 is 'the closing date for entries and the date the regulations come into effect,' World Athletics said in a statement. The latest rules update gives certainty for the 2025 championships in an issue that has been controversial on the track and in multiple courts since Caster Semenya won her first 800 meters world title as a teenager in 2009. Semenya won a ruling at the European Court of Human Rights three weeks ago in Strasbourg, France, in the South Africa star's years-long challenge to a previous version of track and field's eligibility rules affecting athletes with medical conditions known as Differences in Sex Development. That legal win because she did not get a fair hearing at the Swiss supreme court did not overturn track's rules. World Athletics drew up rules in 2018 forcing two-time Olympic champion Semenya and other athletes with DSD to suppress their elevated natural testosterone levels to be eligible for international women's events. Semenya refused to take medication. Now, the Monaco-based track body requires a 'once-in-a-lifetime test' to determine athletes it says are biologically male with a Y chromosome. 'We are saying, at elite level, for you to compete in the female category, you have to be biologically female,' World Athletics president Sebastian Coe said. The governing body is covering up to $100 of the costs for each test with the protocol overseen by its member federations at national level. Test results should be ready within two weeks. 'The SRY test is extremely accurate and the risk of false negative or positive is extremely unlikely,' World Athletics said. World Athletics has combined its eligibility framework for DSD and transgender athletes, with transitional rules that let 'a very small number of known DSD athletes' continue competing if they are taking medication to suppress natural testosterone. 'The transitional provisions do not apply to transgender women as there are none competing at the elite international level under the current regulations,' World Athletics said. Now age 34, and her track career effectively over, Semenya should now see her legal case go back to the Swiss federal court in Lausanne, where she lost her original appeal against track and field's rules at the Court of Arbitration for Sport. ___ AP sports:

Track and field sets Sept. 1 deadline for female eligibility gene tests ahead of worlds in Tokyo
Track and field sets Sept. 1 deadline for female eligibility gene tests ahead of worlds in Tokyo

Associated Press

time30-07-2025

  • Sport
  • Associated Press

Track and field sets Sept. 1 deadline for female eligibility gene tests ahead of worlds in Tokyo

MONACO (AP) — Clarifying promised rules on female eligibility, track and field's governing body set a Sept. 1 deadline Wednesday for athletes to pass a gene test for competing at the world championships. World Athletics said in March it would require chromosome testing by cheek swabs or dry blood-spot tests for female athletes to be eligible for elite-level events. The next worlds open Sept. 13 in Tokyo and Sept. 1 is 'the closing date for entries and the date the regulations come into effect,' World Athletics said in a statement. The latest rules update gives certainty for the 2025 championships in an issue that has been controversial on the track and in multiple courts since Caster Semenya won her first 800 meters world title as a teenager in 2009. Semenya won a ruling at the European Court of Human Rights three weeks ago in Strasbourg, France, in the South Africa star's years-long challenge to a previous version of track and field's eligibility rules affecting athletes with medical conditions known as Differences in Sex Development. That legal win because she did not get a fair hearing at the Swiss supreme court did not overturn track's rules. World Athletics drew up rules in 2018 forcing two-time Olympic champion Semenya and other athletes with DSD to suppress their elevated natural testosterone levels to be eligible for international women's events. Semenya refused to take medication. Now, the Monaco-based track body requires a 'once-in-a-lifetime test' to determine athletes it says are biologically male with a Y chromosome. 'We are saying, at elite level, for you to compete in the female category, you have to be biologically female,' World Athletics president Sebastian Coe said. The governing body is covering up to $100 of the costs for each test with the protocol overseen by its member federations at national level. Test results should be ready within two weeks. 'The SRY test is extremely accurate and the risk of false negative or positive is extremely unlikely,' World Athletics said. World Athletics has combined its eligibility framework for DSD and transgender athletes, with transitional rules that let 'a very small number of known DSD athletes' continue competing if they are taking medication to suppress natural testosterone. 'The transitional provisions do not apply to transgender women as there are none competing at the elite international level under the current regulations,' World Athletics said. Now age 34, and her track career effectively over, Semenya should now see her legal case go back to the Swiss federal court in Lausanne, where she lost her original appeal against track and field's rules at the Court of Arbitration for Sport. ___ AP sports:

Athletics-World Athletics mandates gene test for female category eligibility
Athletics-World Athletics mandates gene test for female category eligibility

Yahoo

time30-07-2025

  • Sport
  • Yahoo

Athletics-World Athletics mandates gene test for female category eligibility

(Reuters) -Athletes will be eligible to compete in the female category for world ranking competitions such as the World Championships only if they clear a one-time gene test in a bid to protect the integrity of women's sport, World Athletics said on Wednesday. The once-in-a-lifetime test for the SRY gene, which helps in determining biological sex, can be conducted via a cheek swab or blood test. The testing protocol will be overseen by member federations and the new regulations come into effect on September 1, ahead of the September 13-21 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo. "It is really important in a sport that is permanently trying to attract more women that they enter a sport believing there is no biological glass ceiling," World Athletics President Sebastian Coe said in a statement. "The test to confirm biological sex is a very important step in ensuring this is the case. We are saying, at elite level, for you to compete in the female category, you have to be biologically female. "It was always very clear to me and the World Athletics Council that gender cannot trump biology. We particularly want to thank our member federations for their support and commitment in the implementation of these new regulations." Athletics has spent years debating eligibility criteria to compete in women's events, amid questions over biological advantages for transgender athletes and those with differences of sex development (DSD). World Athletics bans transgender women who have gone through male puberty from competing in women's events, while it requires female DSD athletes whose bodies produce high testosterone levels to lower them in order to be eligible. Earlier this year, a working group found that those rules were not tight enough, with a pre-clearance test for the SRY gene being one of several recommendations the group made for revised rules. The SRY gene reveals the presence of the Y chromosome, which is an indicator of biological sex. The test was also approved by World Boxing in May when they introduced mandatory sex testing for all boxers. Earlier this month, the European Court upheld a 2023 ruling that double 800 metres Olympic champion Caster Semenya's appeal to a Swiss Federal Tribunal against regulations that barred her from competing had not been properly heard. Semenya was appealing against World Athletics regulations that female athletes with DSDs medically reduce their testosterone levels.

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