BREAKING: Transgender athletes banned from competing in female events by World Athletics

World Athletics has announced that transgender athletes will be excluded from competing in female events.

During a press conference held this afternoon, Thursday, March 23, Sebastian Coe, the president of the World Athletics Council, announced that the body has made the decision to ban transgender athletes. Specifically, he explained that transgender women who have gone through male puberty will be excluded from competing in female events.

“The council has agreed to exclude male-to-female transgender athletes, who have been through male puberty, from female world ranking competitions from 31 March”, Lord Coe clarified.

An official statement released by World Athletics included: “The World Athletics Council has today made a number of important decisions regarding the future participation of the Russian and Belarusian Member Federations in athletics, and the eligibility regulations for athletes who are transgender or who have Differences of Sexual Development (DSD)”.

The World Athletics Council has made a number of important decisions regarding the future participation of the Russian and Belarusian Member Federations in athletics, and the eligibility regulations for athletes who are transgender or who have Differences of Sexual Development.

— World Athletics (@WorldAthletics) March 23, 2023

The Council agreed to the reinstatement of the Russian Federation (RusAF) following seven years of suspension due to egregious institutional doping violations. However, athletes, officials and supporting personnel from Russia and Belarus are still excluded from competition for the foreseeable future due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

This move had been spoken about in January by the entity, suggesting that a rule change would help to remove any unfair advantage that transgender athletes could have over other competitors. World Athletics consulted with its member federations in an effort to strike what could be perceived to be a fair balance in the sport, as reported by Sky News.

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