Former Olympian Sharron Davies has welcomed World Athletics' decision to introduce mandatory sex testing for female competitions, saying she is "extremely pleased" with the move.
World Athletics announced today it will introduce mandatory testing for anyone entering female competitions to verify their biological sex.
The move is the latest overseen by Sebastian Coe, president of the governing body, to address gender eligibility issues. It comes two years after World Athletics banned anyone assigned male at birth from female events.
Sharron Davies told GB News: "I am obviously extremely pleased about this. It's been something I've been trying to get done for the last ten years.
Sharron Davies said she is "extremely pleased" with the choice
GB NEWS
"When the IOC changed the rules in 2015, they basically threw women's sport totally under the woke PC bus.
"There's never been any peer-reviewed science ever in the world to show that we can remove male puberty advantage. And that's the whole reason why we have male and female races.
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She added: "It will stop the male DSD athletes from being able to compete in the female category, which is what we saw in the boxing last summer, which was so horrendous.
"I mean, that was seriously a very, very big accident waiting to happen and showed how ridiculous we've got.
"A simple sex screening test once in your lifetime, and we can protect the female category for all our little girls and all our grown-up girls. We're talking about 50 per cent of the world here."
Michelle Dewberry added: "When it comes to us females, this is a topic that affects all of us women and anyone that's got a daughter, a granddaughter, a niece, and so on. Today common sense, I would suggest, has finally prevailed."
The testing method will be non-invasive, with Lord Coe explaining that athletes would only need to undergo the procedure once.
World Athletics plans to adopt either cheek swab tests or dry blood tests to verify biological sex.
"Neither of these are invasive. They are necessary and they will be done to absolute medical standards," Lord Coe added.
The tests will verify whether someone has transitioned to female after going through male puberty or if they have differences of sex development that provided testosterone advantages.
World Athletics will introduce mandatory testing for anyone entering female competitions to verify their biological sex, insisting they are necessary to protect women's sportGETTYThe International Olympic Committee previously called a return to sex testing a "bad idea," though incoming IOC President Kirsty Coventry has not ruled it out.
The testing was discontinued after the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games despite strong support from female athletes.
"At the Atlanta Olympic Games in 96, they asked the female athletes if they wished for it to carry on. Eighty four per cent said yes, please, and the IOC stopped it," Davies said.
