World Athletics bans transgender women from female category at world ranking events
World athletics, the international governing body for athletics, has said that transgender athletes would not be permitted to compete in female world ranking events.
Lord Coe, the governing body’s president, said that the decision was “guided by the overarching principle which is to protect the female category”.
He went on to say, “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.”
The World Athletics Council have agreed that a working group will be set up to “further consider the issue of transgender inclusion” and noted that there are currently no transgender athletes competing internationally in the sport.
"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.”
World Rugby became the first international sports federation, in 2020, to decide that transgender women would not be allowed to compete in female-only games, with Rugby Football League and Rugby Football Union similarly following suit.
In 2022, British Triathlon became the first British sporting body to establish a new ‘open’ category for transgender athletes to compete in.
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World Athletics bans transgender women from female category at world ranking events