World Athletics has announced the implementation of a cheek swab test to determine biological sex in athletes, a decision aimed at upholding the integrity of female competition.
President Sebastian Coe emphasized the significance of this measure, stating, “It’s important to do it because it maintains everything that we’ve been talking about, and particularly recently, about not just talking about the integrity of female women’s sport, but actually guaranteeing it.”
Speaking at a press conference following the World Indoor Championships in Nanjing, China, Coe added, “We feel this is a really important way of providing confidence and maintaining that absolute focus on the integrity of competition.”
According to Coe, the decision followed extensive consultation, revealing “overwhelmingly, the view has come back that this is absolutely the way to go,” while also noting the test’s minimally invasive nature.
Acknowledging the potential for legal challenges, Coe expressed confidence in the policy’s robustness. “You accept the fact that that is the world we live in,” he said. “I would never have set off down this path to protect the female category in sport if I’d been anything other than prepared to take the challenge head on.”
He referenced past legal victories, stating, “We’ve been to the Court of Arbitration on our DSD (difference of sex development) regulations.
They have been upheld, and they have again been upheld after appeal. So we will doggedly protect the female category, and we’ll do whatever is necessary to do it.”
The announcement comes a week after Coe’s third-place finish in the International Olympic Committee presidential race, which was won by former Zimbabwean Olympic swimmer, Kirsty Coventry.
