Transgender women competing in World Triathlon events must not have competed in male sport within the previous 48 months ©Getty Images

World Triathlon has agreed a new policy that will permit transgender athletes to compete in its women's competitions, although there will be more stringent restrictions including a requirement to demonstrate low levels of testosterone for two years.

In addition, four years must have passed since they competed as a male in sport.

The changes come despite Athletes Committee President Tamás Tóth voting against them.

The Executive Board voted by a majority to implement the policy in 30 days' time, meaning it is set to come into force on September 2.

Vice-president Ian Howard and Tóth were the two dissenting voices from the 17-member Executive Board.

World Triathlon said that the Athletes Committee was one of several bodies that it consulted prior to approval.

The policy requires transgender athletes competing in elite or age group women's triathlon events to "demonstrate that the concentration of testosterone in the athlete's serum has been less than 2.5 nanomoles per litre continuously for a period of at least 24 months".

A 48-month period must have passed between a transgender competing as a male "in any sporting competition" and featuring in women's events.

As well as the Athletes Committee, World Triathlon said it had discussed the changes with its Medical Committee, Coaches Committee, Legal and Consultation Committee, Women's Committee and the Equality, Diversion and Inclusion Commission.

World Triathlon President Marisol Casado argued that the new policy showed that the governing body is
World Triathlon President Marisol Casado argued that the new policy showed that the governing body is "prioritising the fairness principle but showing inclusiveness" ©Getty Images

Experts in the field and the transgender community were also consulted.

These included sport scientists Emma Hilton, Yannis Pitsidalis and Ross Tucker, University experts Roger Pielke Jr, Alun Willims and Ada Cheung, IOC human rights expert Madeleine Pape and advisor Daniel Berezowsky, and transgender athletes Joanna Harper, Chris Mosier, Rachel McBride, Verity Smith, Patty Actually, Annie Lieberman and Veronica Ivy.

World Triathlon President Marisol Casado, an IOC member, said that the decision was the culmination of more than one year's work.

"We have been studying this matter for over a year, we have listened to the voices of all World Triathlon stakeholders, and I can only thank all the Committees and Commissions for the detailed work carried out by them to inform this policy," Casado said.

"We are a small International Federation, but one that has always had inclusion and gender balance in our DNA.

"The policy that we have just approved shows that we are prioritising the fairness principle but showing inclusiveness.

"It is fully aligned with the IOC’s recommendation, and similar to what other IFs have done in the last months.

"We will of course monitor the situation and the evolution of this policy, and we are open to reviewing and discussing it as much as necessary over time, as this subject is still evolving and we need to be flexible."

FINA took a landmark decision at its Extraordinary Congress in June to severely restrict the participation of transgender athletes in its women's events ©FINA
FINA took a landmark decision at its Extraordinary Congress in June to severely restrict the participation of transgender athletes in its women's events ©FINA

The debate on transgender participation in women's sport has become increasingly polarised in recent months.

In November last year, the IOC approved new guidelines which granted increased flexibility to International Federations to set their own policy.

In June, the International Swimming Federation (FINA) took a landmark decision to severely restrict the participation of transgender athletes in women's events, requiring individuals to have completed transition by the age of 12, and start the process to create an open category of competition.

Critics have argued that FINA's policy is discriminatory, but the move has been welcomed on the grounds of fairness of competition by campaigners against the inclusion of transgender athletes in women's sport.

Following FINA's decision, the International Rugby League implemented a decision that had already been taken by rugby union governing body World Rugby and banned transgender players from women's competitions until further notice.

Two of the biggest Summer Olympic International Federations - FIFA and World Athletics - have also confirmed that they will review their eligibility policies.

World Triathlon's stance is at odds with the British Triathlon Federation, which recently announced that transgender athletes would be banned from its women's events.

Instead, there will be two categories of competitive events run by the national governing body from next year - a female category, and an open category for male, transgender or non-binary athletes whose sex assigned at birth is male.