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.
The test for the SRY gene, which needs to be taken only once and helps in determining biological sex, can be conducted via a cheek swab or blood test. World Athletics’ testing protocol will be overseen by member federations and the new regulations come into effect on 1 September, in time for that month’s world 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,” the World Athletics president, Sebastian Coe, said. “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.
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.
Source: World Athletics mandates gene tests for female category eligibility | Athletics | The Guardian