Sebastian Coe, President of World Athletics, looks on after the medal ceremonies on day three of the World Athletics Indoor Championships Nanjing 2025 at Nanjing Youth Olympic Games Sports Park on March 23, 2025 in Nanjing, China
Subscribe To
OUT MAGAZINE
OUT MAGAZINE
Subscribe To
OUT MAGAZINE
OUT MAGAZINE
World Athletics, the governing body of international track and field events, announced it would introduce DNA testing to confirm the eligibility of women competitors in future events. Sebastian Coe, a four-time gold medal Olympian and current World Athletics president, provided details following a meeting of the organization’s governing board in Nanjing, China, last Tuesday.
Keep up with the latest in LGBTQ+ news and politics. Sign up for The Advocate's email newsletter.
“We will doggedly protect the female category, and we’ll do whatever is necessary to do it, and we’re not just talking about it,” Coe told the media following the two-day meeting, the Associated Press reports.
The organization announced the move earlier this month.
“Preserving the integrity of competition in the female category is a fundamental principle of the sport of athletics,” World Athletics said in a press release. “The majority of stakeholders consulted last month on the proposed new eligibility conditions for the female category agreed that allowing only biological female athletes to compete in the female category was essential to maintaining fairness.”
Coe expanded on the decision in his comments.
“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," Coe said. “We feel this is a really important way of providing confidence and maintaining that absolute focus on the integrity of competition.”
Trending stories
He also tried to assuage fears about intrusive, humiliating, or repeated testing.
“Cheek swab or dry blood tests,” Coe said. “It’s along the lines of something that will be administered once in the career of an athlete, a female athlete.”
Related: What does the science say about transgender women in sports?
World Athletics insisted they would “not judge or question gender identity” and would ensure respect and preservation of “the dignity and privacy of individuals” and the confidentiality of the data.
The group also promised it “never has and never would impose any obligation to undergo surgery.”
President Donald Trump has signed a series of executive orders targeting the transgender community, including the recognition of only male and female genders and banning the use of federal funding for gender-affirming care or to support schools allowing transgender females from using bathrooms, changing facilities, or sleeping facilities, or competing in sports that align with their gender identity.
Recommended Stories for You
Latest Stories
