The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has banned transgender women from competing in women’s Olympic events, introducing a new policy that mirrors U.S. President Donald Trump’s “Keeping Men out of Women’s Sports” executive order from last year
Unveiled on Thursday after approval from the IOC Executive Board, the policy—titled “Policy on the Protection of the Female (Women’s) Category in Olympic Sport and Guiding Considerations for International Federations and Sports Governing Bodies”—limits eligibility for all female-category events to biological females. Determination will be made through a one-time SRY gene screening.
“Evidence-based and expert-informed, the policy—applicable from the LA28 Olympic Games onwards—protects fairness, safety, and integrity in the female category,” the IOC stated. The policy does not apply retroactively and excludes grassroots or recreational sports programs, in line with the Olympic Charter, which affirms that “the practice of sport is a human right.”
While no transgender women competed in the women’s category at the 2024 Paris Olympics, weightlifter Laurel Hubbard represented the category at the Tokyo Games in 2021.
IOC President Kirsty Coventry, the first woman to hold the position in the organization’s 132-year history, explained the rationale in a video released by IOC Media.
“As a former athlete, I passionately believe in the rights of all Olympians to take part in fair competition. The policy that we have announced is based on science, and it has been led by medical experts with the best interests of athletes at its heart,” Coventry said.
She added, “The scientific evidence is very clear. Male chromosomes give performance advantages in sports that rely on strength, power, or endurance. At the Olympic Games, even the smallest margins can be the difference between victory and defeat. So it’s absolutely clear that it would not be fair for biological males to compete in the female category.”
Under the new rules, athletes will undergo a mandatory gene test once during their career to confirm eligibility for women’s events.
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