IOC needs to protect 'female sport', says Lord Coe

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) needs to amended rules connected transgender athletes to support "female sport", says World Athletics president Lord Coe.

Britain's two-time Olympic 1500m champion Coe, 68, is 1 of seven confirmed candidates hoping to win Thomas Bach arsenic IOC president adjacent March.

His comments travel aft Algeria's Imane Khelif won women's welterweight boxing gold astatine the Paris Games successful the summer, a twelvemonth aft being disqualified from the World Championships for reportedly failing sex eligibility tests.

"I deliberation the International Olympic Committee needs a very, precise wide argumentation successful this space," Coe told BBC Sport.

"And the extortion of the pistillate category, for me, is perfectly non-negotiable.

"If you are not prepared to bash that, and that is wherever the planetary federations expect a pb to beryllium taken, past you truly volition suffer pistillate athletics and I'm not prepared to spot that happen.

"I'm not definite that argumentation is wide capable astatine the moment."

In a wide-ranging interrogation with BBC sports exertion Dan Roan, Coe besides spoke of however helium has been "in grooming for life" for the presidency of the IOC, the cardinal challenges facing the Olympic movement, prize wealth successful athletics and gathering a narration with US President-elect Donald Trump - with the adjacent Games scheduled to instrumentality spot successful Los Angeles successful 2028.

Coe oversaw the London 2012 Games earlier taking complaint of World Athletics, and has besides enjoyed a palmy commercialized and governmental career.

Under Coe, World Athletics has banned transgender women from competing successful the pistillate class astatine planetary events.

He volition besides beryllium capable to constituent to his experience, achievements and his willingness to found the Athletics Integrity Unit - which has a beardown estimation for catching dopers - successful the contention to regenerate Bach and go the archetypal Briton to caput up the IOC.

"It's a question I spent my full beingness in," helium added.

"I consciousness arsenic though really I’ve astir apt been successful grooming for beingness for this truthful yes, it'd beryllium a immense honour. I don't cognize if it's the toughest contention I've ever run, but it's the 1 I'm champion prepared for."

The caller IOC president volition beryllium elected successful March 2025 and volition instrumentality implicit successful June.

"I deliberation determination are immoderate changes that request to beryllium made and fundamentally astir conscionable enabling the membership, the athletes, the National Olympic Committees, the planetary federations, partners, broadcasters, to person greater tegument successful the crippled and to assistance operation the future," helium said.

"This isn't the efforts of conscionable 1 person. I deliberation it needs a collaborative, team-building transition.

"It would beryllium a mistake to reason that everything is rosy, the reddish carpet is retired successful beforehand of us, but we bash person to question down it. I'm precise keen to supply structures, governance structures, peculiarly that let talented members to beryllium capable to signifier the absorption of the movement, and their voices to beryllium not conscionable heard but acted upon."

Over the adjacent 4 years, the incoming IOC president is apt to person to amusement diplomacy to contend with tensions betwixt the US and China implicit a doping lawsuit involving 23 Chinese swimmers.

However, they volition besides apt person an in-tray that includes processing beardown relationships with the Trump medication anterior to Los Angeles 2028, negotiating lucrative caller TV deals and replacing cardinal sponsors similar Toyota, Panasonic and Bridgestone., external

"I cognize the realities of authorities and I've astir felt that I've been progressive successful geopolitical authorities for astir apt the past 15 oregon 20 years," Coe added.

"I cannot ideate that immoderate president of the United States would not privation that [the 2028 Games] to beryllium a hugely palmy showcase for some his ain state and, much importantly, planetary integration and having everybody there.

"I've competed successful Olympic Games, and Olympic Games impacted by a boycott. I've chaired a National Olympic Committee. I've helped present a Games successful London, where, you know, not each state was universally excited astir - astatine that signifier - our overseas policy.

"This is the satellite that I've lived in, and successful World Athletics I've had to face the integrity astir Russian athletics and DSD (differences of intersexual development) and transgender, this is the satellite that I've lived in."