International Powerlifting Federation cracks down on transgender athletes HotAir

The war on women in sports continues. Better late than never, the International Powerlifting Federation has changed its policy on transgender athletes.

The International Powerlifting Federation (IPF) is based in Luxembourg. It took a 40-year-old transgender lifter-born male breaking several women s records at a meet in Canada for the change to happen. The IPF s policy on transgender athletes now includes a requirement that male-born athletes keep their testosterone in serum below 2.4 nmol/L for at least a year before competing in the women s category, athletes must declare before competing that they are transgender, and they must show a valid passport that identifies them as female, and they must keep their gender identity for a minimum of four years.

The change is no doubt due to Anne Andres, a transgender woman, winning a female powerlifting competition in Canada over the weekend. Andres set an all-time powerlifting record at the 2023 Western Canadian Championship. Unlike the International Chess Federation, who recently banned transgender women from competing in the female category of the competition, international powerlifting is making concessions.

Women s sports have been scrambling to figure out how to best handle the issue of transgender athletes. Thanks to young women like Riley Gaines who were forced to compete against men in their sports and are now speaking out against it, changes in policy are underway. Last month, for example, a cycling race organizer changed its rules. Cyclists who were born female were the only ones allowed to compete in the female category. Transgender women can compete in an open category. That policy, in my opinion, makes the most sense. Let them compete among themselves and others in their category. Leave women s sports alone. Men are not welcome.

via hotair.com