Coe seeks to ensure ‘integrity of female women’s sport’Aim is to be ready for September world championshipsWorld Athletics has approved the introduction of cheek swabbing to determine if an athlete is biologically female. The global body’s president, Sebastian Coe, said the decision taken by the World Athletics council was further evidence his organisation would “doggedly” protect the female category.No timeline for the introduction of pre-clearance testing has been officially set out, but the PA news agency understands World Athletics’ intention is to have the testing in place for athletes wanting to compete in the female category at the outdoor world championships in Tokyo in September. Continue reading...
World Athletics mandates cheek swabs and blood spot tests for elite female athletes to protect the integrity of the female category, aiming to ensure fairness and be ready for the September world championships. This follows the ban on transgender women and athletes with differences in sex development (DSD) from the female category.
