World Athletics has updated its eligibility regulations for transgender and DSD athletes to compete in the female category, following a consultation period with various stakeholders in the first two months of this year. The Council agreed to remove the principle of restricted events and to introduce interim provisions for those relevant athletes who are already competing in unrestricted events. These provisions include a requirement to suppress their testosterone levels below 2.5nmol/L for a minimum of six months before they are eligible to compete again.

For DSD athletes, the new regulations will require any relevant athletes to reduce their testosterone levels below a limit of 2.5 nmol/L for a minimum of 24 months to compete internationally in the female category in any event, not just the events that were restricted (400m to one mile) under the previous regulations.

Regarding 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 Council decided to prioritize fairness and the integrity of the female competition before inclusion, but it agreed to set up a Working Group for 12 months to further consider the issue of transgender inclusion.

This Working Group will include an independent chair, up to three Council Members, two athletes from the Athletes’ Commission, a transgender athlete, three representatives of the Member Federations, and representatives of the World Athletics Health and Science Department. Its remit will be to consult specifically with transgender athletes to seek their views on competing in athletics, to review and/or commission additional research where there is currently limited research and to put forward recommendations to Council.

World Athletics President Sebastian Coe said: “Decisions are always difficult when they involve conflicting needs and rights between different groups, but we continue to take the view that we must maintain fairness for female athletes above all other considerations. We will be guided in this by the science around physical performance and male advantage which will inevitably develop over the coming years. As more evidence becomes available, we will review our position, but we believe the integrity of the female category in athletics is paramount."