World athletics has banned transgender women from competing in elite women’s events if they have experienced male puberty, the sport’s governing body announced on Thursday, AFP reported.

The board also voted to tighten restrictions on athletes with DSD, halving the maximum plasma testosterone for athletes from five to 2.5 nanomoles per liter.

World Athletics President Sebastian Coe said at a press conference that the decision to exclude transgender women was based on “the general need to protect the women’s category”.

The governing body previously offered transgender athletes the right to compete in the women’s category if they also maintained testosterone levels below 2.5 nanomoles per liter for 24 months.

However, he said on Thursday that it was clear the proposal did not have much support in the sport.

“We’re not saying ‘no’ forever,” Coe said, adding that WA would set up a taskforce to look into transgender inclusion, chaired by a transgender athlete.

DSD athletes will need to lower their testosterone below the new limit for at least 24 months to compete internationally in any elite women’s event, WA said in a statement.

The stricter rules will affect DSD athletes such as two-time Olympic 800m champion Caster Semenya, 2020 Olympic 200m silver medalist Christine Mboma and Francine Niyonsaba, who finished second to Semenya in the 800m at the 2016 Olympics .

WA’s DSD regulations previously required women competing over distances between 400 meters and one mile to maintain testosterone levels below five nanomoles per litre.