{"id":117103,"date":"2025-08-04T02:36:10","date_gmt":"2025-08-04T02:36:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/117103\/"},"modified":"2025-08-04T02:36:10","modified_gmt":"2025-08-04T02:36:10","slug":"world-athletics-mandatory-genetic-test-for-women-athletes-is-misguided-i-should-know-i-discovered-the-relevant-gene-in-1990","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/117103\/","title":{"rendered":"World Athletics\u2019 mandatory genetic test for women athletes is misguided. I should know \u2013 I discovered the relevant gene in 1990"},"content":{"rendered":"

World Athletics president Sebastian Coe recently announced a new rule for women athletes, requiring mandatory genetic tests<\/a> to verify their biological sex. <\/p>\n

This test must be done if athletes wish to compete in September\u2019s World Athletics Championships in Tokyo.<\/p>\n

World Athletics has said all athletes competing as women must have an SRY gene test to identify whether a male Y chromosome is present.<\/p>\n

Any athlete whose test shows the presence of the SRY gene will be banned from competing in the women\u2019s category in elite events.<\/p>\n

Coe said the decision was made to ensure \u201cthe integrity of women\u2019s sport<\/a>\u201d with World Athletics asserting<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\n

The SRY gene is a reliable proxy for determining biological sex.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

I argue the science does not support this overly simplistic assertion.<\/p>\n

I should know, because I discovered the SRY gene<\/a> on the human Y chromosome in 1990. For 35 years I have been researching it<\/a> and other genes required for testis development.<\/p>\n

A brief primer on testes and ovary development<\/p>\n

If a human embryo has XY chromosomes, then at six weeks of development the SRY gene on the Y chromosome triggers a cascade of events involving some 30 different genes that lead to the formation of testes.<\/p>\n

In simplest terms, the testes then produce hormones including testosterone, leading to male development.<\/p>\n

However, if an embryo has XX chromosomes, a whole different group of genes come into play, ovaries form and the hormones produced result in a female.<\/p>\n

We know making testes or ovaries requires a complex network of many interacting genes and proteins.<\/p>\n

Some genes promote testis development while others promote ovary development.<\/p>\n

Other genes either suppress ovary formation or antagonise testis formation.<\/p>\n

Even once ovaries or testes are fully formed, we require other genes to maintain them. These genes don\u2019t always function as expected, affecting the development of these organs.<\/p>\n

How does this relate to sex testing of elite women athletes?<\/p>\n

Changes or variants in the many genes that regulate the development of a testis or ovary can result in sex reversal or a non-functioning testis or ovary.<\/p>\n

What do I mean by this?<\/p>\n

If there is a change in the SRY gene so it does not function as usual, then a person can fail to develop testes and be biologically female. Yet they carry XY chromosomes and under the World Athletics tests they would be excluded from competition.<\/p>\n

Other XY individuals may have a functioning SRY gene but are female \u2013 with breasts and female genitalia, for example \u2013 but have internal testes.<\/p>\n

Importantly, the cells of these people are physically unable to respond to the testosterone produced by these testes. Yet, they would receive positive SRY tests and be excluded from competition.<\/p>\n

At the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, eight of 3,387 women athletes had positive test results for a Y chromosome<\/a>. Of these, seven were resistant to testosterone<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The SRY test isn\u2019t cut-and-dried<\/p>\n

World Athletics asserts the SRY gene is a reliable proxy for determining biological sex. But biological sex is much more complex, with chromosomal, gonadal (testis\/ovary), hormonal and secondary sex characteristics all playing a role.<\/p>\n

Using SRY to establish biological sex is wrong because all it tells you is whether or not the gene is present.<\/p>\n

It does not tell you how SRY is functioning, whether a testis has formed, whether testosterone is produced and, if so, whether it can be used by the body.<\/p>\n

Other problems with the SRY testing process<\/p>\n

World Athletics is recommending all women athletes take a cheek swab or blood sample<\/a> to test for the presence of SRY.<\/p>\n

Normally, the sample would be sent to a lab that would extract DNA and look for the presence of the SRY gene.<\/p>\n

This may be easy enough in wealthy countries, but what is going to happen in poorer nations without these facilities?<\/p>\n

It is worth noting these tests are sensitive. If a male lab technician conducts the test he can inadvertently contaminate it with a single skin cell and produce a false positive SRY result.<\/p>\n

No guidance is given on how to conduct the test to reduce the risk of false results.<\/p>\n

Nor does World Athletics recognise the impacts a positive test result would have on a person, which can be more profound than exclusion from sport alone.<\/p>\n

There was no mention from World Athletics that appropriate genetic counselling<\/a> should be provided, which is considered necessary prior to genetic testing and challenging to access in many lower- and middle-income countries.<\/p>\n

I, along with many other experts, persuaded the International Olympic Committee to drop the use of SRY for sex testing<\/a> for the 2000 Sydney Olympics.<\/p>\n

It is therefore very surprising that, 25 years later, there is a misguided effort to bring this test back.<\/p>\n

Given all the problems outlined above, the SRY gene should not be used to exclude women athletes from competition.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"World Athletics president Sebastian Coe recently announced a new rule for women athletes, requiring mandatory genetic tests to…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":117104,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[815,159,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-117103","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-genetics","8":"tag-genetics","9":"tag-science","10":"tag-united-states","11":"tag-unitedstates","12":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/114968171835224268","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/117103","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=117103"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/117103\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/117104"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=117103"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=117103"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=117103"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}