World Athletics was accused of "succumbing to political pressure" after ruling male-to-female transgender competitors who have been through male puberty will be prevented from competing in women's elite events.
There was also praise for its stance, notably from former Olympians including swimmer Sharron Davies and decathlon great Daley Thompson.
The global governing body for track and field announced its decision on Thursday, and it will come into force from March 31.
World Athletics said it had spoken to a wide range of stakeholders before reaching its conclusion, with president Sebastian Coe saying: "Decisions are always difficult when they involve conflicting needs and rights between different groups, but we continue to take the view that we must maintain fairness for female athletes above all other considerations.
"We will be guided in this by the science around physical performance and male advantage which will inevitably develop over the coming years. As more evidence becomes available, we will review our position, but we believe the integrity of the female category in athletics is paramount."
Davies responded on Twitter, writing: "Thank you @sebcoe & @WorldAthletics for standing up for female athletes across the world who are worthy of fair sport"
Thompson added: "@sebcoe & @WorldAthletics have just given me another couple of reasons to love them."
The LGBTQ+ campaign group Stonewall took a different perspective, stating: "It is so disappointing to see World Athletics announce a unilateral ban on trans women in track and field events. Their own statement recognises that there are no trans women competing at an international level and that they have no specific evidence to justify the ban.
"We stand with trans people who now have the door closed on their chance to compete in athletic sports at an international level."
Athlete Ally, a US-based group which states its aim is to "champion LGBTQI+ equality", was also critical of the stance taken by World Athletics.
Its founder Hudson Taylor said: "We are beyond devastated to see World Athletics succumbing to political pressure instead of core principles of inclusion, fairness and non-discrimination for transgender athletes and athletes with intersex traits.
"The guidelines announced today go against inclusive guidelines from the International Olympic Committee as well as extensive research showing that transgender women do not have an inherent advantage in sport.
"Sebastian Coe states that these guidelines are an attempt to protect women's sport, but in fact these guidelines do nothing to address what we know to be the actual, proven threats to women's sports: unequal pay, rampant sexual abuse and harassment, lack of women in leadership and inequities in resources for women athletes.
"What these guidelines mean on a human level is that a young transgender girl who dreams of one day seeing herself on an Olympic stage will now have those dreams cruelly dashed."
While World Athletics says it has extensive research on athletes with differences of sexual development (DSD), it says its bank of information regarding transgender athletes is not as great.
It said: "There are currently no transgender athletes competing internationally in athletics and consequently no athletics-specific evidence of the impact these athletes would have on the fairness of female competition in athletics. In these circumstances, the council decided to prioritise fairness and the integrity of the female competition before inclusion."
Biles ends Paris Olympics with floor silver after falling off beam
Simone Biles capped her trip to the 2024 Olympic Games with a silver medal in Monday's floor final, having earlier missed out on the podium in the balance beam event.
Rebeca Andrade edged out the Team USA star to win her first gold of the Paris Games, having earlier claimed silver in the all-around and vault events and helped Brazil take bronze in the team event.
Biles' compatriot Jordan Chiles took bronze following a successful appeal to her score, bumping Romania's Ana Barbosu down to fourth.
Biles had earlier finished outside the medal places for the first time at the 2024 Games in the beam event, a fall costing her as Italy's Alice d'Amato took gold.
Having earlier won gold in the team, all-around and vault events, Biles placed fifth after falling off the beam at the end of Monday's final.
Biles appeared to express frustration with the crowd after her routine, holding her finger to her ear to question why most of those present had been silent.
Biles' overall medal haul at the Games now stands at 11 – seven gold, two silver and two bronze.
Larisa Latynina, who won 18 medals for the Soviet Union, is the most successful female gymnast in Olympic history.
Wightman expects big things at Paris Olympics amid Team GB 'golden era'
Jake Wightman believes Team GB athletics are enjoying a 'golden era' and could record one of their best medal hauls at the Olympic Games in Paris.
Wightman won 1,500m gold at the 2022 World Championships, the first global gold won by a Brit in a middle-distance event since Sebastian Coe's 1,500m gold at the 1984 Olympics.
The Scot has been tipped to compete for a medal in the French capital, having also taken bronze at the 2022 Commonwealth Games and silver at the European Championships that same year.
With Team GB looking to better their total of five athletics medals from the delayed 2020 Tokyo Games, Wightman thinks an impressive haul could be on the cards.
"I think collectively it should be one of the best games we could have in athletics. I think it's a bit of a golden era at the moment," he told Stats Perform.
"A lot of people are shaping up to give the best performance they'll ever have. Sadly, the state of global athletics is that it's probably in a bit of a golden era as well.
"Every event has some pretty tough competitors to beat, but if you look at all the British athletes that could medal, then you could end up with a huge tally, not just of medals, but of golds."
Wightman finished 10th in the 1,500m final in Tokyo three years ago, when crowds were limited to fellow athletes due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
He is excited to soak up a different type of atmosphere this time around, adding: "The fact that the last one was Tokyo meant people were going to be watching it in the early hours, so it probably didn't get the reach from home that it could have.
"Whereas this one, an hour's difference, there's no excuse for the British population to get behind it and to support our athletes.
"Personally, it's a chance for me to go out there and try and see what I can do. Once you get to a final, who knows what you could do from there. So for me, it's just taking it each day at a time."
Wightman's father Geoff was also an endurance runner, representing England at the 1990 Commonwealth Games in Auckland.
Having moved into television since his retirement, he was also on commentary duties when his son triumphed at the World Championships, a moment Wightman remembers fondly.
"It's pretty unique within sport that your dad is the one that's commentating. He's done it for a very long time," he said.
"For me to win a global title with him on the mic was probably the dream scenario for him. It was a special moment."
UK Athletics bans transgender women from competing in female category
UK Athletics has banned transgender women from competing in the female categories of their United Kingdom competitions and events.
The ban comes a week after World Athletics announced their own outlawing of male-to-female transgender competitors who have been through male puberty competing in women's elite events.
The move received support from former Olympians such as swimmer Sharron Davies and decathlon great Daley Thompson, though it also came under fire from some LGBTQ+ campaign groups.
Both bans will come into force from March 31.
"UK Athletics notes the revised World Athletics Eligibility Regulations for Transgender Athletes released on 23 March 2023 and coming into effect on 31 March 2023," a statement read.
"It is fair for athletes who have gone through male puberty to be excluded from the female category in Athletics.
"UK Athletics acknowledges and appreciates the efforts made by World Athletics to protect the female category in Athletics.
"From midnight on 31 March 2023, UK Athletics applies the World Athletics Transgender Regulations to all athletics competitions and events in the United Kingdom where the licence for the competition or event is granted by UK Athletics."
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