IAAF President Sebastian Coe has hinted that his body could follow the example of swimming, with a tougher policy on transgender athletes competing in women’s competitions.

The International Swimming Federation (FINA) has announced that it intends to create an “open class” to allow transgender athletes to compete in a separate class.

Under the new laws, transgender swimmers will only be allowed to compete in women’s competitions if they can “prove they have not experienced any signs of male puberty.”

The decision comes after criticism of American swimmer Leah Thomas, who became the first transgender athlete to win a college title last March after competing as a male at the University of Pennsylvania between 2017 and 2019.

“My responsibility is to protect the integrity of women’s sports and we take that very seriously and if that means we have to make changes to the protocols in the future, we will,” Coe said while in Budapest, Hungary on the sidelines of the Championships. swimming world.

“I have always made it clear that if we are cornered and we have to choose between justice and inclusion, I will always be on the side of justice,” said the Olympic champion in the 1500 meters in 1980 and 1984.

The former runner added: “We see an international federation asserting its primacy in setting rules, regulations and policies for the benefit of its sport. That’s the way it should be. We have always believed and reiterated that biology is more important than sex, and we will continue to revise our rules accordingly.”

According to IAAF rules, transgender women must demonstrate that they have had low testosterone levels for at least 12 months prior to competition.

“We continue to study, research and contribute to the growing body of evidence that testosterone is a key determinant of performance,” Coe, 65, continued, adding that the agency has scheduled discussions on various sexual development and transgender laws later in the year. meeting.