World Athletics claims dozens of women's finalists would've failed new sex test

"World Athletics has said that up to 60 athletes who have been in the finals of women's elite track and field events since 2000 would have failed its sex test. Dr Stéphane Bermon, the governing body's health and science department director, delivered the findings to a scientific panel in Tokyo where this year's World Athletics Championships have just ended. Between the years 2000 and 2023, there were 135 finalists with differences of sex development,"

"World Athletics introduced mandatory sex testing earlier this year, compelling athletes wishing to compete in the female category to undergo a "once-in-a-lifetime" test for the SRY gene, which they said was a "reliable proxy for determining biological sex". By identifying the presence or absence of the Y gene, test is used to verify if a competitor has undergone male puberty or has a difference in sex development which provided "testosterone advantages"."

World Athletics reported that up to 60 athletes who reached finals in women's elite track and field since 2000 would have failed its sex test. Between 2000 and 2023 there were 135 finalists identified with differences of sex development, 50–60 of whom reached more than one final and were described as over-represented in major finals, compromising female competition integrity. A mandatory, once-in-a-lifetime SRY gene test now requires athletes competing in the female category to be biologically female by detecting presence or absence of the Y gene and prior male puberty. The policy has raised privacy concerns and fears of vilification of trans competitors.

Read at PinkNews | Latest lesbian, gay, bi and trans news | LGBTQ+ news