World Athletics’ Return to Gender Testing Exposes Flaws in Protecting Women’s Sports

In a move that casts a long shadow over the future of women’s athletics, World Athletics has reinstated the controversial SRY gene test—a tool designed to detect the presence of a Y chromosome in female athletes seeking to compete at world championships. This policy, heralded by federation president Sebastian Coe as necessary to "protect and promote the integrity of women's sport," unfortunately revives discredited science and disregards fundamental principles of fairness and personal dignity. The history behind this test is far from encouraging. Originating from intrusive practices dating back to the 1980s, it has been widely criticized for being both...