Olympics-Only biological females, determined by gene screening, will be allowed in Games female events
Lausanne, Switzerland, March 26 (Reuters) – Only biological female athletes whose gender will be determined by a one-time gene screening test will now be eligible to participate in women’s category events at the Olympic Games, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said on Thursday.
The IOC announced its new policy following an 18-month consultation phase on the protection of the women’s category as part of an attempt to create a universal rule for competitors in elite women’s sports, following years of fragmented regulations that sparked great debate.
Starting from the LA2028 Olympics, all athletes wishing to qualify for or participate in events in the women’s category will be required to undergo an SRY gene test to determine their eligibility.
“Based on scientific evidence, the IOC considers that the presence of the SRY gene is constant throughout life and represents highly accurate evidence that an athlete has experienced male gender development,” the IOC said in a statement. he said.
The IOC has long refused to impose any universal rules on transgender people’s participation in the Olympics and has instructed international federations to prepare their own guidelines in 2021.
New IOC President Kirsty Coventry made a U-turn soon after taking over in June last year and said her organization would take the lead on a uniform approach.
“At the Olympic Games, even the smallest margins can be the difference between victory and defeat,” Coventry said in a statement. “So it’s absolutely clear that it wouldn’t be fair for biological males to compete in the women’s category. And in some sports it would simply not be safe.”
The new rules have no retroactive force and have no impact on the public or amateur sports.
The IOC said there were exceptions for rare cases of gender development.
“With the exception of rare athletes with a diagnosis of Complete Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome (CAIS) or other rare differences/disorders of sex development (DSDs) and who do not benefit from the anabolic and/or performance enhancing effects of testosterone, no athlete with an SRY positive screen is eligible to compete in the women’s category at an IOC event,” the IOC said.
The Paris 2024 Olympics have been rocked by a major gender controversy involving two boxers competing in the women’s categories, both of whom won gold medals in their respective weights. A year ago, they were banned from the world championships by their international federation due to gender conformity testing.
FEDERATION RULES
Until Thursday, transgender athletes were allowed to participate in the Olympics after being approved by the relevant federations.
Some federations, including athletics, swimming and rugby union, had already drawn up their own rules banning male athletes who have reached puberty from competing in the women’s class. However, many smaller federations had not yet finalized their own regulations on the issue.
Only a handful of transgender athletes participated in the games. New Zealand’s Laurel Hubbard became the first openly transgender athlete to compete in a gender category other than the one assigned at birth when the weightlifter competed in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.
As Los Angeles prepares to host the 2028 Summer Olympics, US President Donald Trump last year banned transgender athletes from competing in the women’s category at school, university and professional events in the US.
Trump, who signed the “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports” order in February 2025, said he would not allow transgender athletes to compete in the LA Games.
(Reporting by Karolos Grohmann; Editing by Ros Russell and Ed Osmond)
