World governing body tightens restrictions on transgender, DSD athletes

MANCHESTER, England : World Athletics said on Thursday that its Council had voted to exclude from elite competition transgender athletes who have transitioned from male to female after going through puberty.

The council also voted to cut the maximum amount of plasma testosterone for athletes with Differences in Sex Development (DSD) in half, to 2.5 nanomoles per litre from five.

The tighter rules will impact DSD athletes such as two-times Olympic 800 metre champion Caster Semenya, Christine Mboma, the 2020 Olympic silver medallist in the 200m, and Francine Niyonsaba, who finished runner-up to Semenya in the 800 at the 2016 Olympics.