Washington DC [US], March 27: The women's category of Olympic sports will be limited to biological females from 2028.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) says eligibility will be determined by a "once-in-a-lifetime" sex test, which would prevent transgender women and those with differences in sexual development (DSD) who have gone through male puberty from competing.
The IOC said that the rule approved by its executive board will apply from the next Olympics 2028 in Los Angeles onwards and will not be used retroactively.
"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, determined on the basis of a one time SRY gene screening," the IOC said.
All athletes to compete in the female category must undergo the SYR test which the IOC said will "protect fairness, safety and integrity in the female category."
The IOC said the rule does not apply for recreational or grassroots sports. It is in line with an executive order of United States President Donald Trump on transgender women in female sports events.
"As a former athlete, I passionately believe in the rights of all Olympians to take part in fair competition," IOC president Kirsty Coventry, a twice swimming gold medallist, said.
"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."
The IOC said the test is for "the SRY gene, a segment of DNA typically found on the Y chromosome that initiates male sex development in utero and indicates the presence of testes/testicles." The SRY test, either a swab, saliva or blood test, was first used on a big scale by World Athletics which made it mandatory for women at last year's world championships in Tokyo.
Athletics and swimming are among sports which have banned transgender women from competing in the female category.
The IOC said its new rules is the result of a review process which started in September 2024 and gained momentum when Coventry became the first woman to be elected president last year.
The gender eligibility debate gained a lot of attention at the Paris Olympics in 2024.
Boxers Imane Khelif of Algeria and Lin Yu-ting of Taiwan won gold medals at the Games, a year after they were disqualified from the world championships, which is run by the International Boxing Federation (IBA), after allegedly failing eligibility tests.
The IOC, which has run the last two Olympic boxing tournaments because it has suspended IBA for various reasons, said Khelif and Lin could compete because they were born and identify as women.
Officially no athlete born as a man competed in the female category in Paris. But New Zealand weightlifter Laurel Hubbard did at the Tokyo Games in 2021, without winning a medal.
The IOC said its research showed that born males retain advantages in the areas of strength, power, and/or endurance and have three significant testosterone peaks: "In utero, in mini-puberty of infancy and beginning in adolescent puberty through adulthood."
It said that the male advantage ranged from 10-12% in running or swimming to more than 100% in sports involving lifting and punching.
The IOC said this also applies to transgender athletes and the vast majority of athletes with certain XY differences/disorders in sex development (DSD), who "have anatomical and physiological advantages in line with being male even as their legal sex, the manner in which they were raised, and/or their gender identity may vary."
DSD or intersex athletes are said to include twice Olympic and triple world champion 800m runner Caster Semenya of South Africa.
But Coventry also said that the regulations mean that "every athlete must be treated with dignity and respect. There must be clear education around the process and counselling available, alongside expert medical advice."
Source: Qatar Tribune