New Delhi: Transgender women athletes will be banned from the Olympics after the IOC agreed to a new eligibility policy under which only biological female athletes, whose gender will be determined by a one-time gene-screening test, will be eligible to participate in female events at the Olympic Games, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced on Thursday.
The new policy aligns with U.S. President Donald Trump’s executive order on women’s sports ahead of the 2028 Los Angeles Games.
“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,” the International Olympic Committee said, “determined on the basis of a one-time SRY gene screening.”
The new policy was announced following an 18-month consultation phase, to protect the female category as part of an initiative to employ a universal rule for participants in female elite sports after years of fragmented regulation that led to major controversies.
Athletes must pass the SRY gene test to qualify for female events at the Olympics
To qualify for female category events at the LA2028 Olympics and the preceding editions of the Summer Games, athletes will have to undergo an SRY gene test to determine their eligibility.
The new rules will have no impact on grassroots or amateur sports.
Though the IOC has stated that there could be exceptions for rare cases of sex development.
“With the rare exception of athletes with a diagnosis of 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, no athlete with an SRY-positive screen is eligible for competition in the female category at an IOC event,” the IOC said.
The Paris 2024 Olympics were marred by a major gender controversy involving two boxers, Imane Khelif (Algeria) and Lin Yu-ting (Taiwan), competing in the female categories. Both athletes claimed gold medals in their weight categories.
A year back, they were banned from the world championships by their international federation over a gender eligibility test.
(With Agency Inputs)