Transgender athletes are no longer allowed to compete with women

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In recent years they have progressed to the world top: intersex sprinters such as Christine Mboma (19) and Beatrice Masilingi (19), who compete in the women’s categories in the short sprint distances and advance to the finals of World Championships and Olympic Games. Mboma won Olympic silver in the 200 meters in Tokyo in 2021 – at the age of 18.

The two Namibians will not have such performances on the big stage for a while. Unless you can demonstrate that your testosterone level has been below 2.5 nanomol/litre for six months. This was decided by the International Athletics Federation (IAAF) on Thursday. Intersex athletes, ie athletes with male and female body characteristics, will in the future have to have their hormone levels checked in all disciplines if they want to compete at world level. “It’s about protecting the women’s categories,” said IAAF president Sebastian Coe. “The fairness and integrity of the competition take precedence over inclusion,” says the world association.

Transgender athletes are not allowed to participate

Transgender athletes are hit even harder. For the time being, they are not allowed to start in the women’s categories if they have gone through male puberty. There are currently no transgender athletes on a global level.

“For now, it’s a ‘no,'” Coe said of the two decisions. A working group will continue to work on the subject in the coming months. “Our position is based on the current state of science.” He assumes that fairness has been restored on the longer running distances, where just over half of intersex people start. In the sprint disciplines, on the other hand, “intersex athletes probably still have a small advantage”.

“Lex Semenya” was absurd

Nevertheless, the Swiss sprinters can be happy with the decision. “It would be good if we soon have a clear regulation. Until then, I just have to hold out’, said the Swiss record holder Mujinga Kambundji (30) in the autumn of the magazine ‘Interview’. “It’s fair and unfair at the same time. I don’t judge intersex athletes, I respect them. They don’t do anything forbidden, but abide by the rules – because at the moment they can start in my disciplines. It’s a complex subject, you must know a lot of backgrounds.”

The arrangement so far had been absurd. After South African Caster Semenya (32) began to dominate the medium distances (400 m to 1 mile) more than a decade ago, a testosterone limit of 5 nanomol/litre was introduced for these categories – the “Lex Semenya”. Which led to affected athletes switching to other disciplines.

Russians stay out

On the other hand, the World Athletics Federation showed a clear lead from the start when it came to whether athletes from Russia and Belarus would soon be allowed to start their sport again. “Our position is very clear,” says Coe. “There are no misunderstandings. It is in the interest of our sport: the exclusion remains.”

Athletics athletes are therefore the antithesis of associations such as fencers, which have withdrawn on this point. And they defy the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Under the leadership of President Thomas Bach, consideration is being given to admitting Russians and Belarusians under a neutral flag in the near future. The decision of World Athletics makes it clear: in athletics there will be no participants from Russia and Belarus in Paris in any case in 2024.

Source : Blick