Beijing, March 27 Following the policy of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to exclude transgender athletes from female category events, a World Athletics spokesperson expressed support for the IOC's new rules, emphasizing that "gender cannot override biology".
"We have been at the forefront of protecting women's sports over the past decade. Attracting and retaining more girls and women into sports requires a fair and level playing field where there is no biological barrier. This means that gender cannot override biology. A consistent approach across all sports is a good thing," the spokesperson said in an email sent to Xinhua on Thursday, the same day as the IOC announced the new policy limiting eligibility for the female category at the Olympic Games or any other IOC event to biological females.
The policy, approved by the IOC Executive Board, will take effect from the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games onward and is not retroactive. It applies to all female category events, including both individual and team sports.
The IOC encourages International Federations (IFs) and other sports governing bodies to adopt the policy when implementing eligibility rules for IOC events.
"Eligibility for any female category event at the Olympic Games or any other IOC event, including individual and team sports, is now limited to biological females, determined on the basis of a one-time SRY gene screening," the IOC said in a statement.
"Eligibility for the female category is to be determined in the first instance by SRY gene screening to detect the absence or presence of the SRY gene," it added.
World Athletics is among the international federations that have already adopted genetic testing, ahead of the 2025 World Championships last September in Tokyo, to confirm athletes' biological sex, aiming to strengthen fairness and transparency in women's competitions.