Coe reveals 90 per cent uptake for SRY test by athletes in female categories

Seb Coe says over 90 per cent of athletes who are set to compete in female categories at the upcoming World Athletics Championships in Tokyo

Sebastian Coe, the World Athletics president, says over 90 per cent of athletes who are set to compete in female categories at the upcoming World Athletics Championships in Tokyo have taken a newly introduced gene test.

The test – known as an SRY test – identifies the Y chromosome, which causes male characteristics to develop.

If an athlete returns a negative result, they are eligible to compete in female categories at world-ranking events, including the World Championships, which begin on September 13.

In March, World Athletics approved the use of the test and confirmed in late July that the one-time test would be required for athletes to compete after September 1.

In practice, the test is non-invasive, involving a blood test or cheek swab. The SRY test has been referred to as ‘sex testing’ and has been viewed as a controversial and divisive measure by some, but a necessity by others arguing for greater protection for female athletes.

Lord Coe said: “I can probably say that we’re hitting around about 90 per cent, probably slightly more now, and the objective was always to have those athletes tested.

“The objective is to make sure that, by the time we have the Championships, they will have all been tested. But the timeframe was tight. We knew that.

“The athletes are overwhelmingly supportive of this and have been very helpful in all this. The member federations have been very supportive and we needed to establish the most effective test.”

Member federations are initially responsible for providing the SRY test – for example, in the UK it is UKA/British Athletics that oversees testing.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

World Athletics President Lord Coe says the governing body will do ‘whatever is necessary’ to protect the female category in the sport after it approved the introduction of cheek swabbing to determine if an athlete is biologically female.

In France, the process has been complicated by French law. SRY gene testing is illegal in France due to a 1994 law banning DNA testing for non-medical and non-judicial purposes to protect family integrity, so French athletes have had to undertake the SRY test by travelling outside of France.

Coe confirmed that, while it is World Athletics’ stated aim to have all athletes tested by the start of the World Championships next month, the results do not have to be known due to the tight timeframe.

For athletes whose national federation has not been able to offer an SRY test, World Athletics will step in and offer the test at holding camps in Japan used by athletes prior to competing in Tokyo.

“By and large, the process has gone pretty smoothly, but it’s not been without its challenges,” said Coe. “The vast majority have been pretty straightforward and we’ve made a contribution of about $100 (£74) per test.”

While athletics has often led around the issue of gene testing and other sensitive issues within sport, such as DSD (differences of sex development) and transgender policies, it is not the only sport that has introduced an SRY test.

Coe feels the World Athletics policy will stand up to legal scrutiny

World Boxing, the recently recognised global governing body for boxing, brought in mandatory SRY testing in May for boxers who wish to compete in their female categories, including at the upcoming World Boxing Championships that begin in Liverpool next week.

Imane Khelif, the Algerian Olympic boxing champion who was at the centre of an eligibility dispute during the Paris Games last year, has not been entered into next week’s welterweight category, although China’s Lin Yu-ting, the other boxer at the heart of the Paris row, is expected to be entered.

The coach of the featherweight gold medallist from Paris said: “She has not considered withdrawing from the competition because of the new gender tests. We will submit all the relevant documents requested by the organisers, as part of normal procedures.”

Khelif and Yu-ting had been disqualified from the 2023 World Championships for allegedly failing to meet gender-eligibility criteria, although no evidence of those boxers’ test results – if any test was ever done – has been provided by boxing’s previous international federation, the widely disgraced IBA.

The IBA was expelled from the Olympic movement for concerns about the body’s officiating and transparency.