Birmingham 2022: Commonwealth Games agrees gender rules

Organisers of the Commonwealth Games have agreed gender rules for the event in Birmingham later this year, which could see a trans woman compete in a female cycling event.

The Commonwealth Games Federation has been discussing how to manage the issue of transgender competition for the past 12 months, and has now finalised its policy, according to The Telegraph.

The competition will follow the rules applied by individual sporting bodies within each discipline.

In cycling, the Union Cycliste Internationale, has a transgender policy that requires a rider’s testosterone level to be below 5nmol/L for at least 12 months before their first race.

According to the Telegraph, that means an unnamed athlete, who previously competed in male events, will now be in contention for selection in a female cycling category.

‘The CGF will work in close partnership with the relevant international federations to establish qualification and eligibility criteria for athlete participation at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games,’ the federation told the paper.

A spokesman said the new policy ‘will be in keeping with principles established in the IOC framework on Fairness, Inclusion and Non-Discrimination on the Basis of Gender Identity and Sex Variations’.

‘We embrace all Commonwealth athletes, citizens, communities and nations and promote fairness, non-discrimination and inclusion,’ the federation added.

The rules do not differ greatly from those applied at the event in 2018, which were held in Australia.

At those Games, trans weight lifter, Laurel Hubbard, qualified for the Australian team in the 90+kg category. However, an elbow injury ruled her out of the competition.

Hubbard went on to qualify for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. She was not the favourite going into the competition and failed with three snatch lifts and was placed bottom of her group