World Athletics now requires female athletes to undergo a one-time genetic test to confirm sex
PublishedAugust 28, 2025 2:30 PM EDT•UpdatedAugust 28, 2025 1:49 PM EDT
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Once upon a time, Canada wouldn’t let athletes compete unless they were fully vaccinated against COVID-19 — and by fully, I mean you had to have your entire primary series done with the proof uploaded to a government portal. But testing an athlete’s genetic sex to ensure fairness in elite women’s sports?
Well, that’s just a step too far.
Two Canadian female athletes are complaining about World Athletics’ new policy, which requires every athlete hoping to compete in women’s events at the World Championships in Tokyo next month to undergo a one-time genetic test to confirm biological sex.
The test looks for the presence of the SRY gene, a sex-determining region on the Y chromosome that triggers male development. If the gene is present, that athlete is not eligible for the female category — because, well, that athlete isn’t female.
Seems like common sense. But to some, it’s offensive. Even unethical.
“I feel [the test] is invasive,” one Canadian athlete told the CBC. “The rollout of this policy has been a mess and has caused a lot of unnecessary stress for the federations and athletes to figure out how to get a test done.”
Another athlete, who is based in Europe and had to drive 4–5 hours to a testing site in Spain on Aug. 19, said, “It was hard to stay focused, as I was trying to find a solution to complete the test, which involved emails and phone calls.”
Emails and phone calls? You mean things most of us have to do at our jobs every single day? The horror!
Sure, it might have been an inconvenience, but athletes were given until Sept. 1 to get it done. Plus, we’re talking about elite international competition. Athletes don’t get to pick and choose which rules are too inconvenient for them to follow.
World Athletics Made The Right Call Here
World Athletics introduced the gene test in March following a Council decision. Track and field’s international governing body then announced details of the policy on July 31 — giving national federations one month to administer tests before the deadline. While some federations (like Canada and France) initially bungled the process, World Athletics has offered logistical help and financial support. It even pledged to cover $100 of each test, with some federations (like Dynacare in Canada) offering to cover 100% of costs for retesting.
World Athletics President Sebastian Coe defended the policy in a statement: “It’s really important in a sport that’s permanently trying to attract more women that they enter a sport believing there is no biological glass ceiling. The test to confirm biological sex is a very important step in ensuring this is the case.”
He’s exactly right.
We’ve seen what happens when there’s no line drawn. In 2016, the entire podium in the women’s 800m at the Rio Olympics consisted of DSD (differences in sex development) male athletes — all of whom had testosterone levels far beyond the female range. It wasn’t a fair race. And it robbed female athletes of the opportunity to medal.
The entire podium for the women’s 800m final at the 2016 Summer Olympics consisted of XY intersex athletes with male levels of testosterone.
(Photo credit should read ERIC FEFERBERG/AFP via Getty Images)
At the 2024 Paris Olympics, two more reportedly DSD male athletes — Imane Khelif of Algeria and Lin Yu-Ting of Taiwan — won gold medals in women’s boxing. World Boxing has since announced it will follow World Athletics’ lead and implement SRY gene testing ahead of future international competitions.
Olympic gold medalists Imane Khelif and Lin Yu-Ting were both disqualified from the 2023 world championships by the International Boxing Association (IBA) for reportedly failing gender tests.
(Getty Images)
One of the griping, anonymous Canadian athletes even conceded: “There is acknowledgment testosterone is a performance-enhancing hormone and the key differentiating hormone between the female and male category.”
Exactly. Glad we’re on the same page here.
So let’s review: genetic testing for the purpose of confirming eligibility for a global athletics championship? “Invasive.”
But multiple forced mRNA injections, digital passport uploads and two-week quarantines at government-designated Canadian hotels? That was totally fine.
Come on.
If women’s sports are going to survive, governing bodies must hold the line. That starts with acknowledging reality and making sure the women’s category is reserved for those who are actually female. No matter how much Canada complains about it.