Reports indicate that transgender athletes will be excluded from women’s events in the Olympics.

IOC to Propose New Policy on Transgender Female Athletes

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is reportedly set to implement a new policy that would prohibit transgender female athletes from competing against biological women. This change is also anticipated to target individuals with differences in sexual development (DSD).

Currently, the IOC allows each sport’s governing body to make decisions regarding transgender athletes; however, following a leadership change within the IOC, it seems a policy revision is on the horizon, as noted by reports.

IOC President Kirsty Coventry emphasized the importance of protecting the women’s category during a discussion in June, indicating there was strong backing from fellow members for this approach.

“We realize that different sports have varying contexts… but our members clearly communicated that, to maintain fairness, safeguarding the women’s category is our priority,” Coventry remarked back then. She added that the change should be guided by scientific evidence and involve input from organizations already working in this field.

The official announcement regarding the updated policy is likely to occur at the IOC General Assembly in February, which precedes the upcoming Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina, Italy. This follows a detailed presentation by IOC Medical Director Dr. Jane Thornton.

According to reports, Thornton’s presentation highlighted that even athletes treated with reduced testosterone levels still retain certain physical advantages. The proposed policy aims to address athletes with DSD, specifically those who were assigned female at birth but possess male characteristics.

Controversy has arisen in Olympic boxing over athletes who experienced issues with gender testing. For instance, Algeria’s Imane Kherif and Taiwan’s Lin Yuting both secured gold medals in their weight categories amid considerable debate regarding their eligibility. Kherif insists on their identity as women, while Lin has not publicly addressed the matter since the Olympics concluded.

Following these incidents, the World Boxing governing body has mandated gender testing for participants, and Kherif must comply with testing before being eligible to compete again.