The International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced on Thursday that only biological female athletes will be eligible for female category events at the Olympic Games. This decision follows an 18-month consultation phase aimed at protecting the female category and establishing a universal rule for competitors in elite sports.
Previously, transgender athletes were allowed to compete in female category events after being cleared by their respective federations. However, under the new rules, all athletes seeking qualification or participation in these events from the LA2028 Olympics onwards must undergo an SRY gene test. The IOC stated that scientific evidence shows the presence of the SRY gene is fixed throughout life and accurately indicates male sex development.
The new policy does not apply to grassroots or amateur sports and includes exceptions for rare cases of sex development such as Complete Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome (CAIS) or other disorders in sexual development (DSDs). The Paris 2024 Olympics saw a significant gender controversy involving two boxers competing in the female categories, who had been banned from world championships due to gender eligibility tests.
World Athletics has already implemented its own rules, requiring all female athletes to undergo an SRY gene test through a cheek swab before the Tokyo World Championships. Despite this, human rights and sports advocacy groups have opposed any form of gender testing. Only one openly transgender athlete, Laurel Hubbard from New Zealand, participated in the Tokyo Olympics 2021. US President Donald Trump banned transgender athletes from competing in female categories at school, college, and professional levels in the United States, with a ban set to extend to the LA Games.