World Athletics president calls future of women's sport 'fragile,' defends testosterone regulations -- Times of London

By Amy Woodyatt, CNN

Updated 1950 GMT (0350 HKT) March 22, 2022

University of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas reacts after swimming the 100 Freestyle prelims at the NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships on March 19th, 2022 at the McAuley Aquatic Center in Atlanta.

(CNN)The president of World Athletics, Sebastian Coe, reportedly said that the integrity and future of women's sport is «fragile» and defended his governing body's rules on testosterone. His comments came days after American swimmer Lia Thomas became the first transgender woman to win an NCAA swimming championship last week.

«The integrity of women's sport if we don't get this right, and actually the future of women's sport, is very fragile,» Coe said in remarks at the World Indoor Athletics Championships in Belgrade, according to The Times of London.University of Pennsylvania swimmer Thomas last week became the first out transgender athlete to win an NCAA Division I title after finishing first in the women's 500-yard freestyle event.Thomas, who previously swam for the men's team at UPenn, has been the target of intense scrutiny in the US as many states have moved to limit the participation of transgender women in women's sports. Her success has sparked questions, especially in right-wing media and among Republican politicians, about what makes for fair competition and who gets to be counted as a woman.According to World Athletics rules, which govern track and field events — and do not apply to swimming — a transgender woman must demonstrate that she has had testosterone levels continuously below 5 nmol per liter for a period of at least 12 months to be allowed to compete, and must keep those levels «for so long as she wishes to maintain her eligibility to