World Athletics is set to implement a cheek-swab test for elite athletes competing in the women’s category at international events as part of stricter regulations on eligibility for transgender and difference of sex development (DSD) athletes.
This “pre-clearance requirement” comes after World Athletics banned transgender athletes who had undergone male puberty from competing in female events in March 2023. Now, based on new findings, the governing body is preparing to revise its regulations, arguing that a “significant performance gap” exists even before puberty begins.
Currently, DSD athletes must maintain testosterone levels below 2.5 nmol/L for at least six months to compete in female category events. However, World Athletics now proposes applying the same rules to both transgender and DSD athletes, citing evidence that testosterone suppression in 46XY DSD and transgender individuals “can only partially reduce the overall male advantage.”
A World Athletics council meeting next month will determine when these new regulations take effect.
World Athletics president Lord Coe has prioritized “protecting” the women’s category as part of his campaign to become the next International Olympic Committee president. He emphasized that the proposed rules reflect the latest research to ensure fairness in women’s sports.
The proposed cheek-swab test would detect the SRY gene, which is “almost always present on the male Y chromosome” and serves as a highly reliable indicator of biological sex. A dry spot blood test may also be used to assess testosterone levels in addition to the SRY gene.
There have been calls to introduce mandatory sex testing at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games using swab tests, but experts remain divided on their effectiveness.
Professor Alun Williams, a geneticist specializing in sports performance at Manchester Metropolitan University, previously told BBC Sport that a cheek swab alone would not provide conclusive evidence of an athlete’s sex or competitive advantage.
The proposed regulations, developed by a World Athletics working group on gender-diverse athletes, will undergo a consultation period from February 10 to March 5 before final decisions are made.
