Up to 60 elite women athletes who competed in major track and field finals since 2000 would have failed World Athletics’ new sex test, the governing body has revealed.
Dr Stéphane Bermon, director of World Athletics’ health and science department, presented the data during a scientific panel at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, which wrapped up earlier this week.
Bermon stated that between 2000 and 2023, 135 female finalists with differences of sex development (DSD) competed in elite events. Of those, 50 to 60 participated in more than one final.
“These athletes were over-represented in major finals, which compromises the integrity of female competitions,” he said.
Mandatory Sex Testing Returns
Earlier this year, World Athletics introduced mandatory sex testing, requiring athletes in the female category to undergo a “once-in-a-lifetime” genetic test to detect the SRY gene, which they claim is a “reliable proxy for determining biological sex”.
The test identifies the presence of the Y chromosome to determine whether an athlete has undergone male puberty or has a DSD that provides a testosterone advantage.
Seb Coe Defends Policy
World Athletics president Sebastian Coe doubled down on the governing body’s stance, saying:
“A philosophy that we hold dear… is the protection and promotion of the integrity of women’s sport.
“It is really important in a sport that is permanently trying to attract more women, that they enter believing there is no biological glass ceiling. The test to confirm biological sex is a very important step in ensuring this is the case.
“We are saying, at elite level, for you to compete in the female category, you have to be biologically female. It was always very clear to me and the World Athletics council that gender cannot trump biology.”
Intersex and Trans Advocates Push Back
Human rights groups and advocates for intersex and transgender athletes have raised serious concerns about the policy.
In March, the group interACT, which supports intersex youth, called the sex verification policy “discriminatory”, warning it could violate equal access to sport.
“When women are subjected to invasive genetic testing, they are forced to give up privacy about their personal genetic information, while governing bodies dictate if they are ‘woman enough’ to play women’s sports,” said a spokesperson.
“Sex verification is not about fairness but instead attempts to control women’s bodies while imposing limited and unscientific views of who counts as a woman.”
They warned that mandatory testing could lead to harassment, stigma, and forced medical disclosures, especially for transgender, intersex, and gender-nonconforming women.
“Many women do not know they are intersex until the test takes place,” the group added. “Forced testing may subject women to finding out deeply personal medical information in a stigmatising context and publicly ‘outing’ them.”
Caster Semenya, Imane Khelif Cited as Examples
The group highlighted the disproportionate targeting of women of colour and athletes from the Global South. Athletes like Caster Semenya and Imane Khelif have faced global scrutiny, forced medical intervention, and exclusion.
“Caster Semenya publicly ‘went through hell’ as her health declined when she was forced to alter her body’s hormones.”
Professor: “SRY Is Not a Valid Test”
Professor Andrew Sinclair, who discovered the SRY gene in 1990, criticised the use of the test in modern sport.
“Science does not support [the governing body’s] overly simplistic assertion [that] the SRY gene is a reliable proxy for determining biological sex.”
He explained that biological sex is far more complex:
“Using SRY to establish biological sex is wrong because all it tells you is whether or not the gene is present. It does not tell you how SRY is functioning, whether a testis has formed, whether testosterone is produced and, if so, whether it can be used by the body.”
Sinclair also warned the test could be easily contaminated, leading to false positives, and called the policy a step backwards.
“It is therefore very surprising that, 25 years later, there is a misguided effort to bring this back… The SRY gene should not be used to exclude women athletes from competition.”
