The Inherent Bias

The 2025 World Athletics Championships will mark the twentieth edition of the event and are scheduled to take place from 13 to 21 September 2025 in Tokyo, Japan.

- SRINIVAS MADHAV The writer is a transparency and equality advocate and author. The views expressed are personal

Meanwhile, the international governing body, World Athletics, has announced a gene-testing rule for women's events, effective this September, requiring women athletes to undergo genetic screening to detect the Y chromosome's SRY gene "to protect the integrity of women's competition."

While this policy violates national laws in countries like France and Norway, where genetic testing for non-medical purposes is banned, there are more serious concerns that should be prioritized, such as how athletics as a sport remains fundamentally male-dominated and masculine, despite women's participation.

The real crisis is not eligibility rules—it is the obsession with using male performance as the gold standard for athletic excellence. This deeply embedded mindset undermines the very concept of gender equality in sports and shapes how entire generations view athletic achievement.

At the Paris 2024 Championships, Noah Lyles won the men's 100m sprint in 9.79 seconds, while Julien Alfred claimed the women's title in 10.72 seconds. In the long jump, Miltiadis Tentoglou leapt 8.48 meters compared with Tara Davis-Woodhall's 7.10 meters.

When these achievements are displayed side by side, young viewers absorb a dangerous message: that women's performances are inferior versions of men's accomplishments. This comparison turns women's sports into a perpetual consolation prize, reinforcing the stereotype that female athletes are simply weaker versions of their male counterparts.