IOC Bans Transgender Women from Female Categories Starting at LA 2028

The International Olympic Committee announced on Thursday that only biological female athletes, determined by a one-time genetic screening test, will be eligible to compete in female category events at the Olympic Games, with the policy taking effect at the 2028 Los Angeles Games. The ruling, unveiled by IOC President Kirsty Coventry, requires all athletes wishing to compete in the female category to undergo a test for the SRY gene, whose presence will disqualify an athlete from female category competition. The IOC framed the decision as a measure to protect the female category and introduce a universal rule for elite female sports, ending years of fragmented regulations across different sports bodies. The policy covers both individual and team sports and applies to all IOC-sanctioned elite events, explicitly excluding recreational and grassroots sports from its scope.

Coventry cites science, safety, and fairness Kirsty Coventry, who became IOC president in June 2025 as the first woman and first African to hold the role, presented the policy as grounded in scientific evidence and medical expertise. „The policy that we have announced is based on science and has been led by medical experts. At the Olympic Games, even the smallest margins can be the difference between victory and defeat. So, it is 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.” — Kirsty Coventry via The Guardian The IOC published a 10-page document outlining the scientific basis for the decision, citing performance data across disciplines. According to the document, there is a 10-12% (percent) — male performance advantage in most running and swimming events and a performance advantage exceeding 20 percent in most throwing and jumping events, with advantages surpassing 100 percent in explosive power sports such as collision, lifting, and punching. The IOC stated that DSD athletes and transgender women who have transitioned from male to female retain the physiological advantages of male puberty. Coventry also stated that athletes will need to be screened only once in their lifetime, with counselling and expert medical advice made available alongside the process.

Paris boxing controversy and Lundholm case drove the change The IOC reviewed its eligibility policy following controversies at the 2024 Paris Olympics, where boxers Imane Khelif and Lin Yu-ting competed in the women's category after the International Boxing Association had previously excluded them from world championships for reportedly failing unspecified sex determination criteria. Both athletes won gold medals in Paris, fuelling an international debate over eligibility standards in women's sport. More recently, Swedish moguls skier Elis Lundholm became the first openly transgender athlete to compete at the Winter Games, participating in the women's competition at the Milano Cortina 2026 Games. Lundholm, who was registered female at birth and identifies as male, had not legally changed his sex registration and had not undergone gender-affirming medical procedures, making him eligible under the rules in place at the time. The Swedish federation nominated Lundholm for the women's team and the IOC approved his participation. The new SRY gene test, had it been in force, would not have affected Lundholm's eligibility, as he was born female and would not carry the SRY gene. The new policy also aligns with an executive order issued by U.S. President Donald Trump concerning transgender women in sports.

Genetic sex testing at the Olympics was first introduced at the 1968 Mexico City Games and remained in use until 1996, when the IOC discontinued the practice following criticism from medical and human rights organisations. The debate over transgender and DSD participation in elite female sport intensified after New Zealand weightlifter Laurel Hubbard competed at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, becoming the first transgender woman to do so after transitioning. South African runner Caster Semenya, a DSD athlete, won women's 800m Olympic gold at the 2012 and 2016 Games and has been at the centre of prolonged legal battles over testosterone regulations. The IOC's 2021 framework had moved away from testosterone-based eligibility thresholds, leaving individual sports federations to set their own rules, a fragmented approach the new universal policy is designed to replace.

Gene test replaces decades of fragmented federation rules The new screening procedure is described as non-intrusive, typically conducted via a cheek-swab or saliva test, and is required only once per athlete's career. The IOC stated that the presence of the SRY gene is "fixed throughout life" and constitutes "highly accurate evidence that an athlete has experienced male sex development." The policy marks a significant departure from the testosterone-based frameworks that many individual sports federations had adopted in recent years, replacing them with a single biological criterion applied uniformly across all Olympic disciplines. The IOC was explicit that the rule does not constitute a blanket ban on transgender people from sport broadly, but specifically governs eligibility for the female category at IOC-sanctioned elite events. Sports governing bodies and athlete advocacy groups had been pressing for a consistent standard following the Paris controversies, and the IOC indicated the new framework was developed with input from medical experts.

IOC Female Category Eligibility Policy: Eligibility criterion (before: Fragmented rules set by individual sports federations, often testosterone-based, after: Universal one-time SRY gene screening for all female category competitors); Transgender women eligibility (before: Permitted under certain conditions (e.g. testosterone thresholds), after: Excluded if SRY gene is present); Scope of testing (before: Varied by sport and federation, after: All IOC-sanctioned elite events, not recreational or grassroots sports); Genetic testing at Olympics (before: Discontinued after 1996, after: Reintroduced from 2028 Los Angeles Games)