IOC Prohibits Transgender Athletes From Competing in Women’s Events; Policy Explains Participation Rules

(SeaPRwire) –   On Thursday, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) declared that transgender women athletes would be barred from competing in women’s events.

The IOC stated, “Eligibility for any female category event at the Olympic Games or any other IOC event, including individual and team sports, is now restricted to biological females.”

This new policy is set to take effect starting with the 2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles. The IOC clarified that “it is not retroactive and does not apply to any grassroots or recreational sports programs.”

Kirsty Coventry, IOC President and a former Olympic swimmer, described the policy as “a protection of the female category” and recognized the “very sensitive” nature of the subject in a video released with the IOC’s announcement.

The White House lauded the decision, noting its alignment with an Executive Order President Donald Trump signed upon his return to the White House last year, and attributed the action to Trump—despite the IOC not mentioning the President in its statement.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt posted on X, “President Trump’s Executive Order protecting women’s sports made this happen!”

Conversely, human rights groups have previously voiced opposition to the use of sex testing for athlete eligibility, and advocacy organizations have denounced the IOC’s intentions to establish genetic testing mandates and ban transgender athletes from competition. Last week, prior to the committee’s announcement, numerous groups criticized such a step as an “astounding rollback on gender equality” that would “set women’s sport back 30 years.”

Below is an overview of the Olympics committee’s new policy.

How will athletes be evaluated under the new policy?

The Olympics committee stated that, according to the new policy, “eligibility for any female category event at the Olympic Games or any other IOC event, including individual and team sports, is now limited to biological females, determined on the basis of a one‑time SRY gene screening.”

A 10-page document detailing the policy indicates that the IOC considers “the most accurate and least intrusive way currently available to screen for biological sex is by

screening for the SRY Gene, which is a segment of DNA that is almost always on the Y chromosome, initiates Male sex development in utero, and signals the presence of

testes/testicles.”

The IOC describes SRY, an acronym for “sex determining region Y,” as “a highly accurate, non-invasive screen for biological sex,” obtainable through saliva, cheek swabs, or blood samples.

The IOC announced that the screening would be a “once-in-a-lifetime test” for athletes who test negative, unless “there is reason to believe that a negative reading is in error.”

The committee affirmed, “Athletes who screen negative for the SRY gene permanently satisfy this policy’s eligibility criteria for competition in the female category.”

The IOC detailed “rare exceptions” to these eligibility requirements. Athletes diagnosed with “Complete Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome (CAIS) or other rare differences/disorders in sex development (DSDs) who do not benefit from the anabolic and/or performance-enhancing effects of testosterone” will retain eligibility for the female category, even if they test positive for SRY. All others with SRY-positive screens will be prohibited from participating in women’s events.

World Athletics, the global governing body for athletics competitions such as track and field, had previously declared its intention to mandate SRY gene screening for eligibility in women’s events. Other sports organizations have similarly implemented various forms of gender testing.

What is the rationale behind the IOC’s ban?

The IOC’s new policy stems from the conclusions of a working group established last year to investigate “protecting the female category” after a committee meeting.

Coventry stated at the time, “There was overwhelming support from all of the Members who were present here, and those who were able to share with us before they left, that we should protect the female category.”

According to the IOC, the working group comprised “specialists in sports science, endocrinology, transgender medicine, sports medicine, women’s health, ethics and law,” and examined “the latest scientific evidence, including developments since 2021,” alongside conducting interviews with “impacted athletes from around the world.”

On Thursday, the committee reported that, based on its efforts, the group had “reached a clear consensus” that “male sex provides a performance advantage in all sports and events that rely on strength, power and endurance.”

In the video accompanying Thursday’s announcement, Coventry asserted, “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. In addition, in some sports it would simply not be safe.”

Advocate opposition

Last week, after reports emerged regarding the working group’s recommendations, 90 organizations, among them the International Commission of Jurists and the Sport & Rights Alliance, released a joint statement imploring the IOC not to mandate genetic testing for athletes or exclude transgender athletes from women’s events.

Andrea Florence, Executive Director of the Sport & Rights Alliance, stated, “A sex testing and blanket ban policy would be a catastrophic erosion of women’s rights and safety. Gender policing and exclusion harms all women and girls, and undermines the very dignity and fairness the IOC claims to uphold.”

The organizations pointed out that entities such as the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and the World Medical Association have criticized sex testing in sports, and argued that the policy would also conflict with the IOC’s own 2021 Framework on Fairness, Inclusion and Non-Discrimination.

Furthermore, the groups asserted in their joint statement that mandatory genetic testing would perpetuate a history of sports eligibility rules that have disproportionately affected women of color from “the Global South” in recent years.

Olympic medalist Francine Niyonsaba declared in a statement, “The IOC must not turn its back on women and girls of color. I gave so much time and effort to building the 2021 Framework and have repeatedly shared my views. I hope the IOC will not ignore us.”