The International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced on Thursday that transgender women will be banned from competing in female category events at the Olympic Games.
This will take effect at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
The first and only transgender woman to compete at the Olympics was New Zealand weightlifter Laurel Hubbard in Tokyo in 2021.
What is the new policy?
All athletes who want to compete in a female category event at an IOC event must now pass a one-time SRY gene screening. The SRY gene is a segment of DNA typically found on the Y chromosome that is usually present in males.
If the gene is present, an athlete is ineligible for the female category. If it is absent, they are permanently cleared and will never need to be tested again.
The test is conducted via saliva, cheek swab, or blood sample. There are narrow exceptions for athletes with certain medical conditions affecting sex development. The IOC has encouraged governing bodies for Olympic sports to adopt the policy.
The policy does not apply to grassroots or recreational sport.
IOC decision
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OC president Kirsty Coventry, who took over in June last year, oversaw a review of scientific, medical, and legal developments that concluded this month. The review drew on experts across sports science, endocrinology (hormones), transgender medicine, and ethics. It concluded that being assigned male at birth “provides a performance advantage across all sports relying on strength, power, and endurance.”
Coventry said: “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.”
Several major federations had already implemented their own similar policies before the IOC, including World Rugby in 2020, World Aquatics in 2022, and World Athletics in 2023.
What has the reaction been?
Pride Cup, an Australian organisation that promotes LGBTQIA+ inclusion in sport, has criticised the announcement.
CEO Hayley Conway said: “There is no scientific standard for defining ‘biological sex’, it cannot be reduced to a single marker. The proposed tests are completely arbitrary”.
The International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA World), which represents more than 2,000 organisations globally, said the policy would put all women at risk.
Executive Director Julia Ehrt said: “Invasive policing of women’s bodies should concern everyone as it reinforces harmful stereotypes and exposes all women and LGBTI athletes to further harassment and scrutiny.”
