Lord Coe believes action must be taken amid fears ‘no woman will ever win another sporting event’ following the controversy at the Paris Olympics this summer.
Boxing duo Imane Khelif and Lin Yu-Ting both won gold, despite scrutiny over their gender.
The International Boxing Association, who have been discredited, have alleged both fighters are ‘biologically male’ after they failed gender eligibility tests at the World Boxing Championships last year.
The IOC, for their part, insist both are women and should be allowed to compete.
Lord Coe believes action must be taken amid fears ‘no woman will ever win another sporting event’ following the controversy at the Paris Olympics this summer
ITV
Coe is keen on replacing Thomas Bach as president of the IOC.
And the 67-year-old, speaking to ITV, has now insisted he will do everything to protect female sporting stars.
“I can’t really sit here having a glass ceiling where there are female athletes coming into our sport who know that there will be a point beyond which biology is going to determine the outcome of what they do,” he said.
“It’s very simple for me: have a policy, stick to it, communicate it, and don’t get distracted by dissenting voices.”
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He continued: “Sometimes you just have to stick a stake in the ground and say: ‘This far, and no further,’ and the decision we made at World Athletics was pretty clear-cut.
“I’m elected to do some pretty serious things and one of them is the preservation of the female category, because if you don’t do that, then no woman will ever win another sporting event and I take that quite seriously.
“I come from a sport where we are a 50-50 sport.
“Female athletes, as you’ve seen here, are box-office.
“In fact, there have been some periods in the sport where they have actually carried the sport.”
Khelif and Lin have both insisted they’re female.
Algerian boxer Khelif has filed a complaint with Paris prosecutors as she looks to combat the abuse she’s received online.
Lin kept her cards close to her chest when asked if she’d do the same, though has previously claimed the IBA’s allegations about her failing a gender test are ‘false’.
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Lord Coe has spoken out after the boxing controversy that surrounded the Paris Olympics this summer
ITV
As for Coe, the athletics icon feels he’s the right man to become IOC chief.
“I have always made it clear that if the opportunity arose, then I will give it serious thought,” he said.
“The opportunity has arisen and clearly I need to think about it. Of course I am going to consider it.
“I have been involved in the Olympic movement for the larger part of my life.
Imane Khelif (pictured) and Lin Yu-Ting won gold at the Paris Olympics this summer despite controversy over their gender
REUTERS
“I have chaired an Olympic Games from bid to delivery and two years of legacy after that. I have been privileged to compete in two Olympic Games.
“I have chaired a national Olympic committee, and I now have the best job in the world as president of the No1 Olympic sport.
“These are experiences that if you put together, as well as other aspects of my life, would be beneficial to the role.”