This rule has been created to prevent athletes who have changed their gender to compete in women’s events, and will come into effect on 1 September 2025. Therefore, female athletes will not be able to participate in the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, starting August 13th, without passing the SRY gene test.
According to a press release issued by World Athletics, this test will need to be done only once in a lifetime and will be conducted via a buccal swab or blood test, whichever is more convenient. This test will identify the athlete’s gender.
Commenting on the new rules and the SRY test, World Athletics President Sebastian Coe said, “The philosophy we cherish in World Athletics is the protection and promotion of the integrity of women’s sport. In a sport that is genuinely trying to attract more women permanently, it is really important that they enter the sport with the confidence that there is no biological impediment. The testing is a very important step to confirm biological gender.” He further added, “We are saying that to compete at a specific level in the female category, you have to be biologically female.”
