World Athletics President Sebastian Coe welcomed the swimming decision to ban transgender women from elite women’s competitions as “in the best interest of his sport” – and hinted that athletics could soon follow suit.
Lord Coe was in Budapest on Sunday while the governing body of swimming, Fina, voted to ban transatlees for women who have experienced some part of male puberty. Within 24 hours, he announced that the World Athletics Council would also review its policies on transsexuals and DSD (gender differences) at the end of the year.
“It is my responsibility to defend the integrity of women’s sport. “We take this very seriously, and if that means we need to make adjustments to the protocols in the future, we will,” Coe said. “And I have always made it clear that if we are ever cornered to the point where we are judging justice or inclusion, I will always be on the side of justice.”
According to the rules of the World Athletics, transgender women can compete in the women’s category, provided they suppress their testosterone to below 5 nmol / L in 12 months. This rule was also followed by Fina until Sunday, when she changed her rules, after scientific evidence showed that trans women retain an advantage even after a reduction in testosterone.
When asked what he was doing with Fina’s new policy, Coe was clear. “We see an international federation upholding its leadership in defining rules, regulations and policies that are in the best interests of its sport,” he said. “It simply came to our notice then. We have always believed and kept repeating that biology prevails over gender, and we will continue to review our regulations accordingly. “
As it turns out, there are no elite translators, although CeCé Telfer became the first openly transgender person to win the NCAA title in 2019 in the women’s 400m hurdles.
Any tightening of the rules will also affect DSD athletes such as gold medalist in the two-time Olympic and three-time 800-meter world championships Custer Semenya, 200-meter silver medalist in Tokyo 2020 Christine Mboma and Francine Nyonsaba, who won the last Diamond League final. women at 5000 meters a year.
Athletes with DSD – who have male testicles but do not produce enough of the hormone dihydrotestosterone (DHT), which is critical for the formation of the male external genitalia – have proven to be an extremely controversial field for athletics.
In 2019, World Athletics appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport to stop DSD athletes from running internationally in events between 400 meters and one mile, unless they are taking drugs to reduce testosterone levels. However, they can participate in other events. Cass ruled that 46 XY DSD athletes “enjoy a significant sporting advantage … over 46 XX athletes without such a DSD” because of biology.
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There was a lot of sympathy for athletes like Semenya, who were raised as young women and wanted to compete as one, and any change in World Athletics DSD policy would rekindle controversy.
Asked if the governing body would consider adopting a policy similar to Fina, Coe said: “We have always said that our regulations in this area are a living document specific to our sport and we will follow science.
“We continue to study, research and contribute to the growing body of evidence that testosterone is a key determinant of effectiveness, and we have scheduled a discussion on our DSD and transgender regulations with our board at the end of the year.
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