Sebastian Coe, a candidate to be the next president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), made his stance on protecting women's sports clear on Tuesday.
Coe promised to introduce an "uncompromising and clearcut" policy to protect women’s sports if he is elected president in the March election. Coe is a former Olympian for Great Brittain and won two gold medals running in the 1,500m, one in the 1980 Moscow games and one in 1984 in Los Angeles.
The sanctity of women's sports and gender eligibility came under a heated global microscope at this summer's Paris Olympics, when Imane Khelif of Algeria and Lin Yu-ting of Taiwan won gold medals in women's boxing. Both athletes had previously been disqualified from international competitions for failing gender eligibility tests. However, the IOC and current President Thomas Bach voiced support for both athletes.
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Coe might sing a very different tune if he is elected president ahead of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
"I think the International Olympic Committee needs a very, very clear policy in this space," Coe told BBC this week. "And the protection of the female category, for me, is absolutely non-negotiable.If you are not prepared to do that, and that is where the international federations expect a lead to be taken, then you really will lose female sport and I'm not prepared to see that happen. I'm not sure that policy is clear enough at the moment."
Coe added that the situation involving Khelif and Yu-ting made him "uncomfortable."
Khelif and Yu-ting's natural birth sex is disputed.
However, a broader conversation about the inclusion of biological males in girls' and women's sports has erupted across the global sports landscape in recent years, especially in the U.S., where the next Summer Games will take place.
The United Nations released study findings that say nearly 900 biological females have fallen short of the podium because they were beaten out by transgender athletes.
The study, titled "Violence against women and girls in sports," said that more than 600 athletes did not medal in more than 400 competitions in 29 different sports, totaling over 890 medals, according to information obtained up to March 30.
"The replacement of the female sports category with a mixed-sex category has resulted in an increasing number of female athletes losing opportunities, including medals, when competing against males," the report said.
In the U.S., President-elect Donald Trump and even his wife Melania, who has admitted to disagreeing with Republicans on issues of LGBT rights, each announced that they are opposed to allowing biological males to compete in girls' and women's sports. Trump has gone as far as advocating for a full-on ban during a town hall event on Fox News during his campaign.
Since Trump's recent election win, the IOC and Bach have not acknowledged it. When asked why there was no formal acknowledgment of Trump’s win last week, the IOC cited its tradition of neutrality and not taking political sides, according to the AP.
Polls show that the majority of Americans are not in favor of trans inclusion in women's sports, which was a key campaign issue for Trump and other Republicans in the recent cycle.
Nearly 70% of Americans do not believe that biological men should be allowed to compete in women's sports, according to a Gallup poll taken last year.
In June, a survey conducted by NORC at the University of Chicago asked respondents to weigh in on whether transgender athletes of both sexes should be permitted to participate in sports leagues that correspond to their preferred gender identity instead of their biological sex. Sixty-five percent answered that it should either never be or rarely be allowed. When those polled were asked specifically about adult transgender female athletes competing on women’s sports teams, 69% opposed it.
It is very possible that Trump, now with a Republican majority in both the Senate and House of Representatives, and a conservative majority in the Supreme Court, could make good on his promise to ban trans inclusion in women's sports by the 2028 summer games.
If Coe wins the IOC presidential election, it could be a point of agreement where the IOC and Trump can find common ground.
Trump has not had a good history of cooperation with Bach.
IOC President Thomas Bach made one visit to the White House in June 2017 that is part of Olympic lore for how badly it went.
"Pray for our world," Bach was heard to say on a cellphone call later that day in Washington, D.C.
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