A Canadian athlete, with an eye on the World Athletics Championships next month, was preparing for a gym session when she received an email from Athletics Canada.
The Aug. 13 message stated the saliva test (cheek swab) the athlete and other females took at the recent national championships in Ottawa to be eligible for competition at worlds did not comply with World Athletics requirements.
The athlete, who CBC Sports agreed to keep confidential for fear of reprisal, had already travelled to Europe, where she planned to train for a month.
“I went to the gym an hour-and-a-half [after reading the email] because I was on the phone trying to figure out what to do to make sure I was eligible [for worlds],” she said. “Do I have to fly to a different country to get the test? It’s illegal in the country [where] I’m training.
“Travel is load, the stress is load. It’s a bit annoying, especially when I don’t agree with this policy.”
Athletics Canada contracted Dynacare, one of Canada’s leading providers of health and wellness solutions, to provide the test kits for physicians to administer in Ottawa and return for analysis and results. However, Dynacare “made an error with the tubes provided,” according to Athletics Canada, and couldn’t conduct the appropriate tests from the samples taken.
Several messages to Dynacare seeking comment about who is at fault for a possible test tube error were not returned to CBC Sports.
In a previous statement from Dynacare, it said: “Athletics Canada provided Dynacare with saliva samples for testing. Dynacare identified blood samples were required, not saliva, and immediately recommended blood collection to meet the correct standards [from World Athletics].
“It was a new process for Athletics Canada, and we had not provided this kind of testing for them previously.”
Colin Whitmee, Athletics Canada director of high performance, told CBC Sports in a statement last week the saliva test was, and remains, a valid test, per World Athletics.
About 37 Canadian female athletes are undergoing SRY gene testing via blood or swab by the end of August before the Sept. 13-21 world championships in Tokyo.
The SRY gene, which stands for sex determining region Y gene, is found on the Y chromosome. The SRY test determines if the genetic material responsible for directing male sex determination is present in a person’s cells.
In a July 30 news release, World Athletics announced all athletes wishing to compete in the female category at worlds take a once-in-a-lifetime test for the SRY gene for determining biological sex. However, the one-off tests have been ruled illegal in several countries.
In the end, the Canadian athlete only had to drive 75 minutes to a small town in a neighbouring country for the blood test last Friday. Prior to locating this lab, the athlete was preparing to drive four hours each way to the closest major city in that country.
“The lab technician was not impressed with the policy regarding me to do the test,” she said. “Every health care provider I’ve interacted with regarding this test has expressed to me how unethical World Athletics’ policy is and are not thrilled to be participating in it.”
A second Canadian athlete, who CBC Sports agreed to keep confidential for fear of reprisal, said determining where to take the blood test was a challenge, but was thankful Athletics Canada found a solution. Based in Europe, she took it in Spain on Aug. 19 but required an overnight stay after driving four to five hours.
“It would have been too exhausting to do it all in one day,” the athlete added.
Before the trip, her coach adjusted her training schedule.
“It was hard to stay focused, as I was trying to find a solution to complete the test, which involved emails and phone calls,” said the second athlete. “Requiring all women to complete it by Sept. 1 is frustrating.
“World Athletics should have either extended the deadline or allowed the test to be done using a saliva sample in Tokyo [at the world championships].”
The first Canadian athlete noted it gives her pause when a community of scientists are concerned about the steps World Athletics is taking.
“I feel [the test] is invasive,” she said. “The rollout of this policy has been a mess and has caused a lot of unnecessary stress for the federations [like Athletics Canada] and athletes to figure out how to get a test done.”
The first Canadian athlete wondered if World Athletics announced the SRY gene testing close to the world championships so federations wouldn’t have time to challenge.
“Athletics Canada doesn’t feel [it has] the opportunity to have a political stance on this testing. They just want to make sure the athletes are eligible to compete,” she said.
“As an athlete, it feels manipulative. World Athletics is taking advantage of the passion we have for this sport, knowing we’re going to do whatever they say to be eligible. If World Athletics introduced the testing earlier, there would have been more dialogue with the federations about if this is the right thing to do.”
In the “debate” of SRY gene testing, the first Canadian explained, there is “a lot of transphobia, misogyny and hatred towards all sorts of women and it’s hard to talk about.
“There is acknowledgment testosterone is a performance-enhancing hormone and the key differentiating hormone between the female and male category,” she said.
“World Athletics already knows our testosterone levels because we all do anti-doping testing. If there are abnormalities, there is an opportunity for a follow-up. Are you doping? Or, is this natural? The chromosome angle is irrelevant.
In a statement to CBC Sports, World Athletics said it consulted extensively with affected individuals and groups and when asked about a test preference, “a wide range of stakeholders responded, and the majority supported the implementation of the regulations, including the SRY cheek swab test. The test is low-invasive and easy to administer.”
World Athletics told CBC Sports it introduced the SRY gene test this past March following a Council decision and since then “we have been developing the most accessible process, working with many of our member federations.”
In a March 25, 2025 news release that referred to the gene test, World Athletics stated a test provider, process and timeline would be agreed to in the coming weeks.
“They announce SRY gene testing is the direction they want to go, but there is not a formal protocol in place, and no mention of the test being implemented for the world championships in Tokyo,” said the first Canadian athlete. “Then, World Athletics president Seb Coe announces the hard policy on July 30.”
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World Athletics added national championships was deemed the appropriate time for member federations “to test the majority of their athletes” since there is no world championships or Olympics in 2026.
“This is a first, and important, step in protecting the female category,” it said, “which we know our federations actively support.”
Athletics Canada had 24 hours to form an SRY testing protocol for the national championships, which began the next day.
“By then, the Jamaican national championships had happened as well as others,” the first Canadian athlete said.
World Athletics has said it would cover up to $100 US toward the cost of testing for each athlete. For the Canadian athletes, Whitmee said, “Dynacare has offered to cover the costs of all collecting and testing of new samples.
The first Canadian athlete did a Google search and found in some countries the SRY gene test can cost up to $300 US. Her SRY gene test in Europe cost 209 euros, or $242.84 US, with no cheaper option.
“You think about the cost across the [214 member] federations and it’ll be $200,000 to $300,000 US,” she said. “Why don’t we invest that money into anti-doping?
“I hate losing to somebody who’s doping way more than I hate losing to an intersex athlete,” the Canadian athlete added, laughing, as she has lost to both. “Why is World Athletics putting this on the federations when they could have offered this test in Japan [at the world championships] and covered the cost? It is outsourcing the responsibility and leaving the federations to scramble without much information.”
Costs for SRY gene tests vary by country, World Athletics told CBC Sports, with some costing as little as $40 US. “We will know the final costs later this year.”
“Which countries?” the athlete asked. “Also, what about the cost of travel when you have to [test] in a different country?”
Many questions about the process remain unanswered, including the potential for a false-positive test and how athletes and federations would navigate a tight time frame.
In the meantime, Athletics Canada is expected to unveil its world championship team on Thursday.
