World Athletics will exclude transgender athletes who have gone through male puberty from female events in an effort to preserve fairness and integrity in women’s sports, the organization announced Thursday.
According to a press release from World Athletics, it “became apparent” that there was “little support” for the organization’s previous male-to-female trangender policy, “which required transgender athletes to maintain their testosterone levels below 2.5nmol/L for 24 months to be eligible to compete internationally in the female category.”
“In regard to transgender athletes, the Council has agreed to exclude male-to-female transgender athletes who have been through male puberty from female World Rankings competition from 31 March 2023,” the press release added. “In these circumstances, the Council decided to prioritise fairness and the integrity of the female competition before inclusion.”
The organization president, Sebastian Coe, announced the policy in a press conference Thursday.
BREAKING: World Athletics has moved to prohibit transgender athletes who have gone through male puberty from participating in female world ranking competitions.
— REDUXX (@ReduxxMag) March 23, 2023
The sporting body's president, Sebastian Coe, announced the decision at a press conference just moments ago. pic.twitter.com/8DEerPup88
Going forward, the organization will create a Working Group to conduct research and “further consider the issue of transgender inclusion.”
Townhall has covered how biological male athletes who identify as transgender have competed against women in sports and robbed them of opportunities. One example that pushed the issue to the forefront was Will “Lia” Thomas, a male swimmer who competed on the women’s swim team at the University of Pennsylvania last year. Thomas dominated the competition, and female athletes were required to share a locker room with him.
This week, Townhall reported how a transgender athlete won a women's cycling event in New York City. After backlash ensued, the athlete, Tiffany Thomas, said on Instagram that “my two best friends are just as strong as me, I just happened to have a better day on that particular day. They will assuredly beat me at future races.”