The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) has announced a new set of regulations that will effectively bar transgender athletes from competing in track and field competitions. Under these rules, transgender athletes who have transitioned from male to female and have gone through male puberty will be ineligible to compete unless they undergo hormone-suppressing treatment for at least six months. This marks the first time that the IAAF has specifically banned transgender athletes from participating in any event.
The new regulations have stirred up controversy among athletes, coaches, and other sports professionals around the world. Previously, the IAAF had proposed allowing transgender athletes to compete in the female category if their testosterone levels remained low for 12 months, but this was met with widespread disapproval from those within the athletics community.
The IAAF’s new regulations have sparked a debate over whether or not it is fair to exclude transgender athletes from competing in female events. There are those who feel that such an allowance could be unfair to cisgender female athletes due to physical differences between them and transgender athletes who have gone through male puberty.
