The entire sporting world is in an uproar. And the reason behind all of this is the recent eligibility criteria rules for women athletes. Put forth by World Athletics, it pushes forward a new evaluation procedure. This is supposed to be done by taking the most recent scientific and legal research into account. This major transition is a direct result of President Donald Trump’s banning the inclusion of trans athletes. This was executed via an order on the morning of February 5th. But what are its implications?

Under this directive, transgender women completely lose their opportunity to participate in the 2028 LA Olympic Games. However, many members of the public support this policy to protect female athletic integrity. Yet others have also condemned it for demolishing the Olympic potential of many talented athletes. Since then, there have been many discussions regarding this decision. What about the athletes who missed the opportunity due to the sudden change in eligibility? Things are heated up and the frustration is real.

World Athletics took to X, announcing a significant step in shaping the future of women’s sports. “World Athletics today launched a new consultation process on its eligibility conditions for the female category and the current DSD regulations and transgender regulations. The eligibility guidelines are being updated to reflect the latest developments in science, sport, and law.” 

This is the result of extensive research on the part of the gender-diverse athletes. This, in addition to the analysis of the current DND and transgender regulations, has led to the WAC making this decision. The council has been given five important recommendations from the working group, which it has fully endorsed. The consultation phase will run from February 10 to March 5, 2025.

Current President Sebastian Coe said to worldathletics.org, “Preserving the integrity of competition in the female category is a fundamental principle of the sport of athletics, and we look forward to this collaborative consultation process with our key stakeholders in this area.” For the time being, the organization has been conducting open dialogues with the ones directly affected by these decisions.

This is an attempt to strike a balance between inclusivity and championship fairness requirements. But it also aims to refine policies from input from experts, athletes, and stakeholders. Through the executive mandate “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports,” Donald Trump established limitations for trans women to compete in Olympic female categories. But this isn’t limited to only the Olympics.

The NCAA has also enforced newly implemented rigid rules, thus shifting away from the Olympic Movement’s inclusion policies. New rules at World Athletics led the community to react strongly. Many see this as a necessary step toward maintaining fairness in women’s sports.

Clearer rules, fairer competition: Fans welcome World Athletics’ new review

World Athletics’ consultation effort received diverse reactions from fans who view it as essential to organizing gender eligibility standards. The majority of social media users express appreciation toward World Athletics for their actions to maintain a clear separation between male and female athletic categories.

One fan voiced frustration over past inclusions, writing, “We don’t want to see men in female events like what we saw in Paris.” Another echoed a similar view on this, emphasizing the biological distinction: “It’s not that difficult, guys… You are either a man or a woman!! If you have any XY chromosomes, then you don’t compete in women’s sports!! Stop disrespecting biological women!”

Many also questioned why a consultation was necessary in the first place. “Why on earth do you need to do a consultation on what a woman is? We ALL know already, only cheaters pretend otherwise.” The hashtag #SaveWomenSports continues to gain support from those who believe the review is long overdue.

Supporters of World Athletics’ decision have also commended the effort to refine the DSD regulations, with one user saying, “This is excellent news, well done, clearing up the DSD regulations, and with an emphasis on arguing for and explaining them.” One remarked, “DK should not be hard. XX and XY don’t compete against each other in male and female categories.”

Supporters endorse World Athletics’ review, which demonstrates society’s increasing need for clear standards in female athletic competitions. This stands in contrast to athletes like Nikki Hiltz, who have been vocal about inclusion in sports. Hiltz shattered history by running in the women’s 1500m final of the Paris 2024 Olympics and now works as an LGBTQ+ athletics advocate.

However, one question remains: How will this define fairness in women’s sports? What about athletes like Nikki Hiltz and others who challenge traditional categories? Let us know your thoughts on this in the comments.