Women are losing trophies and, in some cases, suffering serious physical harm when male athletes are permitted to compete in female sports categories. What was once viewed as a fringe issue has undoubtedly grown into an internationally recognised matter of public concern. But, finally, the fightback against this infringement of women’s rights might be on.

This week, the United States Supreme Court heard two cases – West Virginia v. B.P.J. and Little v. Hecox – that go to the heart of this debate. Though they arise from American law, the questions they raise are global: can women’s sport continue to be organised around biological sex, or will sex-based categories be legally redefined out of existence?

As someone who spent my life competing in elite sport, I know exactly why women’s categories were created. Opponents of sex-based protections often claim these categories are discriminatory or exclusionary. This could not be further from the truth.

Sex-based sports protections are built around biological reality, not beliefs. And biology matters. Women’s sport exists precisely because........

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