In a move that has sparked outrage, confusion, and deep concern across the LGBTQ+ and sports communities, World Athletics has announced a new policy requiring genetic testing for female athletes to determine eligibility for women’s events. The tests, which involve either a cheek swab or dry blood-spot analysis, will screen for the SRY gene, a marker typically linked to male biological development.
World Athletics president Sebastian Coe said this week that the organization is committed to “protecting the integrity of women’s competition.” But as the regulations roll out, many are left wondering: Why does this only apply to women? And what are we really protecting?
The Policy: One Test, a Lifetime of Exclusion?
According to Coe, athletes will only have to take the test once during their careers. If the SRY gene is detected—regardless of gender identity, hormone levels, or whether the athlete has gone through male puberty—they’ll be barred from competing in the women’s category. Coe emphasized that the process is “non-invasive” and “medically standard,” but the consequences are anything but routine.
“It’s important to do it because it maintains everything that we’ve been talking about… not just talking about the integrity of female sport, but actually guaranteeing it,” Coe said at a press conference following a two-day World Athletics Council meeting in Nanjing.
He also reaffirmed that the governing body is prepared to defend the policy in court if necessary. “We will doggedly protect the female category and do whatever it takes to do it.”
The Gendered Double Standard
The biggest red flag? This testing only applies to female athletes.
There is no equivalent testing for male athletes—no genetic screenings, no testosterone thresholds, no questions about sex development. Male athletes can continue to compete without submitting their chromosomes for inspection. The policy sends a clear message: only women must prove they are “woman enough.”
This decision reinforces a long and painful history of gender policing in women’s sports, where athletes who don’t fit a narrow, often Eurocentric definition of femininity are subjected to suspicion, scrutiny, and now genetic testing.
And let’s be clear: this policy affects all women—not just transgender women. Cisgender women with certain intersex traits or DSD (Differences of Sex Development) may also be flagged and excluded.
This isn’t about fairness. This is about control.
But… Are Trans Athletes Even Winning?
Let’s look at the numbers. Because for all the hand-wringing over “biological advantages” and the integrity of sport, the actual competitive record of transgender athletes on the world stage tells a very different story.
In the entire history of the modern Olympics, only one openly transgender woman has ever competed: Laurel Hubbard, a weightlifter from New Zealand, who qualified for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics but did not win a medal and finished last in her event.
The only openly transgender Olympian to win a medal? Quinn, a non-binary, transgender soccer player from Canada, who helped their team win gold in the women’s soccer tournament in 2020.
That’s:
- Zero transgender women with Olympic medals.
- One non-binary, transgender person with an Olympic medal—Quinn.
- Zero evidence of trans women dominating women’s sports.
So why is World Athletics acting like the female category is under siege?
The Bigger Picture: Dreams on the Line
For transgender youth around the world—those who train hard, chase medals, and dream of Olympic glory—this decision lands like a punch to the gut. It’s a message that no matter how hard you work or how talented you are, you will never be accepted.
The policy doesn’t just block inclusion—it blocks hope.
Transgender and intersex athletes aren’t invading women’s sport. They’re barely in it. And when they do make it, they don’t dominate—they exist. But in today’s climate, mere existence seems to be enough to trigger regulation, exclusion, and erasure.
What we’re seeing here is not a science-based response to unfair competition. It’s a fear-based response to difference.
The Bottom Line
World Athletics claims this is about fairness, but fairness without equality isn’t fair at all. If testing chromosomes is necessary for women, why isn’t it necessary for men? Why are we only worried about “biological advantages” when women are competing?
The truth is, we’re not protecting sport—we’re protecting power structures that have long defined who gets to belong. And the moment marginalized people start stepping into the arena, the rules change.
We must ask ourselves: What kind of future are we building if the price of competition is your identity?
Trans athletes aren’t asking for special treatment. They’re asking for the same chance every kid dreams of: to play, to compete, and maybe, one day, to win. And that shouldn’t require a genetics test.
