Sports
Women’s Sports Under Threat- Lord Coe
Lord Coe has issued a warning over the future of women’s sport, if sporting organisations get regulations for transgender athletes wrong.
At the weekend, American swimmer, Lia Thomas, became the first known transgender athlete to win the highest US national college title with victory in the women’s 500-yard freestyle.
“I think that the integrity of women’s sport if we don’t get this right, and actually the future of women’s sport, is very fragile,” World Athletics president Coe said.
American Thomas swam for the Pennsylvania men’s team for three seasons before starting hormone replacement therapy in spring 2019.
She has since shattered records for her university swimming team.
USA Swimming updated its policy for elite swimmers in February to allow transgender athletes to swim in elite events, alongside criteria that aim to reduce any unfair advantage, including testosterone tests for 36 months before competitions.
“There is no question to me that testosterone is the key determinant in performance,” Coe told the media
“Look at the nature of 12 or 13-year-old girls. I remember my daughters would regularly outrun male counterparts in their class but as soon as puberty kicks in that gap opens and it remains. Gender cannot trump biology.
“You can’t be oblivious to public sentiment, of course not. But science is important. If I wasn’t satisfied with the science that we have and the experts that we have used and the in-house teams that have been working on this for a long time, if I wasn’t comfortable about that, this would be a very different landscape.”
World Athletics rules state a transgender athlete must have low testosterone levels continuously for a period of at least 12 months to be allowed to compete.
On Monday Hungary’s Reka Gyorgy accused the National Collegiate Athletic Association of denying her a “spot in the final” of its swimming championships by allowing Thomas to compete.
Gyorgy missed out on a place in the consolation final by one spot.
“It hurts me,” Gyorgy reportedly said in a letter sent to the NCAA.
“This is my last college meet ever and I feel frustrated.
“It feels like that final spot was taken away from me because of the NCAA’s decision to let someone who is not a biological female compete.”
Gyorgy, 25, competed at the Olympic Games for Hungary in 2016 and has been part of the Virginia Tech swimming team for five years.
She finished 17th in the preliminary races for the 500-yard freestyle, one place away from qualifying for the B final.
Gyorgy acknowledged that Thomas is “doing what she is passionate about and deserves that right” but said she “would like to critique the NCAA rules that allow her to compete against us”.
“I’m writing this letter right now in hopes that the NCAA will open their eyes and change these rules in the future,” Gyorgy said.
“It doesn’t promote our sport in a good way and I think it is disrespectful against the biologically female swimmers who are competing in the NCAA.”
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CAFCL : Rivers United Arrives DR Congo
Rivers United FC of Port Harcourt contingent, comprising players, technical crew, backroom staff, and officials, depart the Murtala Mohammed International Airport in Lagos State on Wednesday, bound for Kinshasa, DR Congo.
The team is set to face FC Les Aigles du Congo in the first-round first-leg match of the CAF Champions League.
This was contained in a press release signed by the media officer of the club, Charles Mayuku and made available to Tidesports on Wednesday.
He said that the highly anticipated match is scheduled to take place at the 80,000-capacity Kinshasa-Complexe Omnisports Stade des Martyrs on morrow with kickoff slated for 3:30pm.
According to the statement the encounter marks the first-ever meeting between both sides in any competition, adding that an air of excitement and unpredictability to the fixture.
“As the Pride of Nigeria embarks on this crucial journey, the team is determined to return with a decent result that will set them up favorably for the second leg on Sunday, 28th September” the statement said.
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FIFA rankings: S’Eagles drop Position, remain sixth in Africa
The new rankings, released via FIFA’s official X handle on Thursday, reflect the team’s continued struggles under Coach Eric Chelle amid a stuttering 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign.
This marks a second consecutive decline after the Nigerian side dropped from 43rd to 44th in August on the back of poor outings in recent international matches.
Despite Nigeria’s setback, several African teams made progress. Morocco remains the continent’s highest-ranked side, sitting 11th in the world after winning eight of their last nine matches. Senegal, Egypt, Algeria and Côte d’Ivoire complete Africa’s top five.
Lesotho slipped to 153rd place, while Benin Republic, Nigeria’s upcoming opponent, climbed to 93rd. South Africa’s Bafana Bafana, who held the Super Eagles to a 1-1 draw in June, rose to 55th, strengthening their bid for World Cup qualification.
Zimbabwe had the biggest slide down the ranking table, dropping nine places to 125th position in the world.
The rankings highlight Nigeria’s struggle to regain form on the global stage as key rivals continue to surge ahead.
Similarly, the Super Falcons of Nigeria remain 36th best in the world], while the Spanish female national team replaced the USA at the top of the women’s ranking.
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