Transgender women athletes banned from Olympics by new IOC policy on female eligibility

LAUSANNE, Switzerland -- Transgender women athletes are present excluded from the Olympics aft the IOC agreed to a caller eligibility argumentation connected Thursday, which aligns with U.S. President Donald Trump's enforcement bid connected women's sports up of the 2028 Los Angeles Games.

"Eligibility for immoderate pistillate class lawsuit astatine the Olympic Games oregon immoderate different IOC event, including idiosyncratic and squad sports, is present constricted to biologic females," the International Olympic Committee said, "determined connected the ground of a one-time SRY cistron screening."

It is unclear however many, if any, transgender women are competing astatine an Olympic level. No pistillate who transitioned from being calved antheral competed astatine the 2024 Paris Summer Games.

The eligibility argumentation that volition use from the LA Olympics successful July 2028 "protects fairness, information and integrity successful the pistillate category," the IOC said.

IOC President Kirsty Coventry speaks during the Olympic opening ceremonial astatine the 2026 Winter Olympics, successful Milan, Italy, Friday, Feb. 6, 2026

Yves Herman/Pool Photo via AP, File

"It is not retroactive and does not use to immoderate grassroots oregon recreational sports programs," said the IOC, whose Olympic Charter states that entree to play athletics is simply a quality right.

After an enforcement committee meeting, the International Olympic Committee published a 10-page argumentation papers that besides restricts pistillate athletes, specified arsenic two-time Olympic champion runner Caster Semenya with aesculapian conditions known arsenic differences successful enactment development, oregon DSD.

The IOC and its president, Kirsty Coventry, person wanted a wide argumentation alternatively of continuing to counsel sports' governing bodies who antecedently person drafted their ain rules.

Coventry acceptable up a reappraisal of "protecting the pistillate category" arsenic 1 of her archetypal large decisions past June arsenic the archetypal pistillate to pb the Olympic assemblage successful its 132-year history.

Female eligibility was a beardown taxable successful a seven-candidate IOC predetermination past twelvemonth erstwhile Coventry's main rivals pledged a stronger argumentation to pb connected the issue.

Before the 2024 Paris Olympics, 3 top-tier sports - way and field, swimming and cycling - already passed rules excluding transgender women who had been done antheral puberty.

The IOC papers details its probe that being calved antheral gives carnal advantages that are retained.

"Males acquisition 3 important testosterone peaks: successful utero, successful mini-puberty of infancy and opening successful teen puberty done adulthood," the papers said.

It added this gives males "individual sex-based show advantages successful sports and events that trust connected strength, powerfulness and/or endurance."