IOC Bans Trans Women from Women’s Sports: New Gender Testing Rules

Consequences for Trans Women

IOC Requires Gender Testing of Athletes

The participation of trans women in women’s sports competitions has been a hotly debated topic in recent years. Now, the IOC has made a decision.

The International Olympic Committee will require all athletes to undergo gender testing in the future to be eligible to compete in international women’s events. Trans women will be barred from competing in the women’s category, the IOC announced. Further sports federations are expected to follow suit.

The new policy is the result of a working group established by IOC President Kirsty Coventry to “protect the women’s category.”

The move towards stricter policy from the Olympic governing body was triggered, in part, by controversy surrounding women’s boxing competitions at the 2024 Summer Games in Paris. At the center of the gender debate were Olympic champions Imane Khelif and Lin Yu-ting. Both were previously excluded from the World Championships by the International Boxing Association (IBA) due to allegedly failing to meet participation criteria based on a gender test. There were also discussions at Olympia 2021 regarding New Zealand weightlifter Laurel Hubbard, who is transgender.

Both athletes were allowed to compete at the Games. Then-IOC President Thomas Bach stated, referencing the rules in place at the time: “There was never any doubt that they were women.” Khelif recently emphasized, “I am not transgender, I am a girl.” Trans people are individuals whose gender identity differs from the sex they were assigned at birth.

Khelif had already announced before the IOC’s new rule that she would undergo gender testing before the 2028 Games in Los Angeles. According to the new IOC guidelines, athletes only need to seize the test once, provided there are no doubts about the result. They would then be permanently eligible for competitions, it was stated.

Most recently, Swedish mogul skier Elis Lundholm competed in Italy as the first openly transgender man at a Winter Games – in the women’s competition. He was assigned female at birth. However, he has identified as a man for many years.

However, he had not legally changed his gender entry, nor had he undergone medical gender-affirming treatment. He was nominated by the Swedish federation for the women’s team and the IOC allowed his participation.