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• BBC
• Wed Apr 16 2025

The ruling does not lead to any immediate change regarding eligibility in elite sport. Governing bodies are not now compelled to amend or reconsider their rules.

The weight of the ruling is likely to influence policy-making over time, and may lead to more sports banning transgender women from competing in women's categories.

"There are still a lot of unknowns here," says Dr Seema Patel, associate professor in sports law at Nottingham Law School.

"A lot of sports governing bodies already have ineligibility for transgender athletes, so I don't know if it's going to change much given the current state of play.

"I think the impact will be determined by what level of research and resource the government wants to put into this to understand the sporting context."

Many sports have introduced new policies around transgender athletes in recent years following some high-profile cases.

In 2023, British Cycling banned transgender women from the women's category after Emily Bridges, the country's high-profile transgender cyclist, was stopped from competing in her first elite women's race.

Last year, more than 100 elite British sportswomen told BBC Sport they would be uncomfortable with transgender women competing in female categories in their sport.

Many of them expressed fears over sharing their opinion publicly because of concerns they would be seen as discriminatory.

One told the BBC "your career is over" if you speak on the subject, while another said: "You can receive abuse if you support it or don't support it. Damned if you do, damned if you don't."

Former British swimming champion and OIympic silver medallist Sharron Davies has been a vocal critic of transgender women competing in sport.

"I am obviously extremely pleased," she said.

"It been 10 years since I have been battling for fair sport for women against this absurdity that biological reality doesn't exist and it doesn't affect something like sport, so it's been a very good day.

"I think it's just really important that we can define what a woman is, and that biology exists and that you cannot change your sex as human beings.

"It doesn't mean to say that we can't respect people across the whole of society however they wish to present themselves, and this had never been my position that everyone shouldn't be involved in sport.

"Let's hope now that all sports, including the FA [Football Association] and the ECB [English Cricket Board], will do that and they will stop discriminating against women and girls."