Seb Coe insists female competition will be protected and preserved under his presidency of World Athletics
The biological sex tests introduced by World Athletics to ensure the integrity of women’s competition at the World Championships in Tokyo are almost complete.
Speaking two weeks before this year’s big global event in Tokyo begins, World Athletics president Seb Coe says 85% of tests were conducted during the period of national championships in recent weeks, whereas now (Aug 28) the figure is closer to 90%.
The remaining athletes will be tested at holding camps on the eve of the championships in Tokyo. Some of the tests, which are one-off and non-invasive swab or blood tests, have been done at Diamond League meetings.
“Member federations have really opted to be at the centre of this and I’m really grateful to them,” says Coe. “UKA did most of their testing at the trials, for example.”
Coe stresses: “It’s not gender testing. We are simply verifying female biology by testing for the identification of a Y chromosome. We need to do everything we can in athletics to preserve and protect the integrity of women’s sport and I’m not prepared to do (jeopardise) that under my presidency.”
The SRY gene tests were announced in July to ascertain whether an athlete is eligible to compete in the female category.
Coe was speaking at the Diamond League in Zurich exactly one week before leaving for Tokyo where he will enjoy, or perhaps endure, a week of council and congress meetings before the track and field action begins on September 13.
“Ticket sales are buoyant,” he says, “and there are some sell-out sessions. A sport without fans is a hobby and we don’t ever want to be seen as that.”
He adds: “We have an extraordinary World Championships to look forward to. If the Diamond League is anything to go by then the athletes are the gift that keep giving. We’re in for some really sumptuous potential head to heads.”
Around 2000 athletes from more than 200 countries are set to compete with some of them already in their holding camps.
Tokyo will also form the climax of the season and Coe promised the new World Athletics Ultimate Championships in Budapest in 12 months’ time would provide a similarly exciting end to the summer.
Coe says a team of around 20 people have been dedicated to working on the Budapest event for the past two…
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