TRANS BAN ‘IN THE BEST INTERESTS’ OF ATHLETICS
THE president of World Athletics Sebastian Coe called the competition ban on transgender women a decisive action to protect the female category.
Even though transgender athletes aren’t an issue in track and field at the elite level at the moment, the sport’s governing body has fallen in line with swimming, which implemented a ban nine months ago.
Coe said there had been consultation with stakeholders including the International Olympic Committee and national federations about the issue of transgender athletes.
“The majority of those consulted stated that transgender athletes should not be competing in the female category,” he said. “The judgment we took ... was, I believe, in the best interests of our sport.”
The vote, which passed with 71 per cent of national federations in favour, declared transgender athletes who have transitioned from male to female after going through puberty won’t be allowed to compete.
World Athletics also announced that Russian athletes will remain barred from track and field “for the foreseeable future” because of the country’s invasion of Ukraine.
The pressing issue for athletics was the situation with DSD athletes – they have male chromosomes and internal testes but have been raised as girls since birth – who had been competing regularly, and winning, at an elite level for some time.
These include two-time Olympic 800m champion Caster Semenya, with the council voting to tighten restrictions on their competing, cutting the maximum amount of plasma testosterone for athletes in half, to 2.5 nanomoles per litre from five.
They had previously tried to restrict the range of events the DSD athletes could compete in, barring them from running in races from 400m up to 1500m.
Semenya had been trying to compete in longer events but the tightening isn’t about her, given she is in the twilight of her career. There are 12 other DSD athletes competing at the elite level and they had shown in recent times the restriction of events was no longer an issue.
Eyebrows were raised when Burundian Francine Niyonsaba – who finished runner-up to Semenya in the 800m at the 2016 Rio Olympics – won the 2021 Diamond League 5000m final, while there was again unease when Christine Mboma claimed the silver 200m at the Tokyo Olympics.
These were the results that made the world governing body nervous. The tightening of DSD restrictions – they have to reduce their testosterone levels below 2.5 for at least six months to be able to compete intentionally – now means it’s most unlikely they will feature in Paris.
The move has been welcomed in Australia, with leading middle-distance coach Nic Bideau saying it was unfair for other female competitors at the elite level.