Sports federations have been looking at each other quite a bit lately when it comes to regulations on transgender athletes, and World Athletics is now taking a step – again – to, in its own words, ‘protect the female category’. The global athletics federation is introducing cheek swab tests to determine whether an athlete is biologically female.
That new rule was presented by World Athletics President Sebastian Coe in Nanjing, where the World Championships Indoor were held just last week. “We should not only talk about the integrity of women’s sports, but also guarantee it. This test is not too drastic, but it is the right one. We will protect the female category with undiminished commitment.”
Recently, World Triathlon already made headlines with a new ‘open category‘ specifically for transgender athletes. World Athletics also previously introduced (new, ed.) rules for transwomen: they are not allowed to compete in women’s races if they went through puberty as men. In addition, rules were already in place for intersex athletes with naturally high testosterone levels. They must meet a lower value for two years to continue competing among women, something that can be done, for example, by taking medication.
