Athletics: Transgender people banned from women's competitions

Europe 1 with AFP 20:32 p.m., March 23, 2023, modified at 20:32 p.m., March 23, 2023

Transgender people are banned from women's athletics competitions "as of March 31," the president of World Athletics, the international federation, announced Thursday. "The board (of World Athletics) has decided to exclude male and female transgender athletes who have experienced male and female puberty from international women's competitions," Coe said. "The World Athletics Council has taken clear steps to protect the women's category of our sport by restricting the participation of transgender and intersex athletes," Coe added.

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"Transgender athletes should not compete in the female category"

The majority of athletics stakeholders consulted "felt that transgender athletes should not compete in the female category," he said. "For many, the evidence that trans women do not retain an advantage over biological women is insufficient. They want more evidence ... before considering the option of inclusion in the female category," the official continued.

The World Athletics Council has made a number of important decisions regarding the future participation of the Russian and Belarusian Member Federations in athletics, and the eligibility regulations for athletes who are transgender or who have Differences of Sexual Development.

— World Athletics (@WorldAthletics) March 23, 2023

The current regulations required transgender athletes wishing to compete in the female category to keep their testosterone levels below the 5 nmol/L threshold for one year.

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Intersex athletes need to maintain their testosterone levels

In addition, intersex athletes, for example the iconic South African Caster Semenya, have had to keep their testosterone levels below 2018 nmol/L for 5 months since April 6 to compete in events ranging from 400m to mile (1,609m). This regulation had been denounced by Semenya, double Olympic champion of the 800m, who refuses to comply with hormonal treatment or an operation, but who had lost the appeals brought in particular before the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). The International Olympic Committee (IOC) had asked sports federations in November 2021 to establish their own criteria to allow transgender and intersex people to compete at a high level.