Transgender women banned from the 2028 L.A. Olympics by new IOC policy

Transgender female athletes will be barred from the Olympics starting at the 2028 Los Angeles Games after the International Olympic Committee implemented a new eligibility policy on Thursday.

Eligibility for the women’s competition will be determined by a single, mandatory genetic test, according to the IOC. The test requires a saliva screening, cheek swab or blood sample.

No women born male have competed in the 2024 Paris Summer Games, and it is unclear whether any transgender women are currently competing at the Olympic level. The new policy, however, is consistent with President Trump’s executive order banning transgender athletes from participating in women’s or women’s sporting events in the United States.

The eligibility policy approved by the IOC is not retroactive and does not apply to recreational sports programs.

The IOC said in a statement that it “protects the fairness, safety and integrity of the women’s category.”

“Eligibility for any women’s event at the Olympic Games or any other IOC event, including individual and team sports, is now limited to biological females.”

Until now, individual sports federations determined whether transgender women were allowed to compete in women’s categories, with the IOC only providing recommendations. Sports that placed restrictions on transgender athletes included athletics, boxing, swimming and rugby.

The IOC Executive Board approved the new policy after 18 months of study. It reflects guidelines approved by the World Athletics Council in June, determining eligibility for the women’s category through screening for the absence or presence of the SRY gene.

The IOC’s policy is based on scientific research which considers the presence of the SRY gene to be fixed for life and constitutes proof that an athlete has experienced male sexual development. Athletes who test negative for the SRY gene will be eligible to compete in women’s sports.

SRY (which stands for sex-determining region Y gene) is found on the Y chromosome. In the cell, it binds to other DNA, leading to the formation of testes, according to the National Library of Medicine. Even men without Y chromosomes still have a copy of the SRY region on one of their X chromosomes, which explains their masculinity.

Jane Thornton, the IOC’s medical and scientific director, presented findings to the executive board last year that transgender athletes born with male sex markers retained physical advantages, even those who received treatment to lower their testosterone.

Kirsty Coventry, a former Olympic gold medal swimmer from Zimbabwe, was elected a year ago as the first female president of the IOC. She campaigned on the importance of protecting the female category.

“At the Olympic Games, even the smallest margins can make the difference between victory and defeat,” Coventry said in a statement on Thursday. “It is therefore absolutely clear that it would not be fair for biological males to compete in the female category.”