Lausanne: The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has announced that transgender women will no longer be eligible to compete in women’s events at the 2028 Summer Olympics, introducing a stricter policy aimed at ensuring fairness in female competition.
Under the new guidelines, participation in women’s categories will be limited to biological females. The IOC said a one-time mandatory genetic screening—checking for the presence of the SRY gene—would be used to confirm eligibility. The policy will apply only to elite-level competition and is not retroactive, meaning it will not impact grassroots or community sports.
The IOC stated that the move is intended to “protect fairness, safety and integrity in the female category.” It also noted that scientific studies suggest individuals born male may retain physical advantages in areas such as strength, endurance, and power, even after transitioning.
IOC President Kirsty Coventry supported the decision, saying that at the Olympic level, “even the smallest margins can be the difference between victory and defeat,” adding that allowing biological males to compete in the female category could compromise fairness.
The new regulations may also affect athletes with differences in sex development (DSD), including double Olympic champion Caster Semenya, whose eligibility has been the subject of ongoing debate in international athletics.
The IOC said it aims to create a unified global standard instead of leaving individual federations to set their own rules, many of which had already introduced similar restrictions.
The decision comes amid intensifying global discussions over gender eligibility in women’s sports and follows calls in several countries for stricter policies.
While the IOC maintains that the measure safeguards competitive integrity, the move is expected to draw criticism from human rights organizations and advocacy groups, setting the stage for further debate ahead of Los Angeles 2028.
Source: TOI
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