The International Weightlifting Federation has revealed to 1 NEWS that it wanted a scientific study into lifters like Laurel Hubbard before this year’s Tokyo Olympics but had the idea shut down.
The revelation comes after the International Olympic Committee said it will publish new guidelines on transgender athletes after the Tokyo Games to help individual sports create their own rules.
Sam Coffa, vice president of the IWF for 25 years and former member on its executive board, told 1 NEWS there should be no debate around Hubbard’s participation this year.
“She's done everything right according to the regulations,” Coffa said.
“Therefore she has to be respected for what she is. And that is a woman.”
In 2015, the IOC published guidelines with a limit for testosterone levels; restrictions that were set to be altered before this year's Games but IOC scientists are reportedly struggling to reach an agreement.
However, Coffa said that same year the IWF looked to do more research of their own specifically for weightlifting but it fell through.
“We all shrugged our shoulders, you know, we just said, 'hey, you know we have a medical committee. Let them tell us what to do’,” he said.
That resulted in the IWF medical committee falling back on the IOC guidelines rather than pushing for their own.
“The IOC, as I recall it, did not say, ‘you will apply these rules or these regulation’ - they just gave us the guidelines,” he said.
“From there, anyone can do whatever they want to.”
An example Coffa brought up was World Athletics who halved the testosterone limit required by the IOC for their disciplines.
“They've done whatever they think should be done in respect to other issues and that's a matter for the sport to do.”
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