Anna Hartz
Olympic Committee Prepares New Rule to Exclude Transgender Athletes from Women’s Sports
The debate over fairness in women’s sports has been growing louder in recent years. Athletes, coaches, and fans have questioned how to balance inclusion with the need for fair competition.
Now, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) appears ready to make a major decision that could reshape women’s categories across all Olympic sports.
Physical Advantages
According to The Times, the IOC plans to ban transgender women from competing in women’s events early next year.
This change follows a scientific review that examined the physical differences between people born male and female.
The review concluded that there are lasting physical advantages linked to being born male, even after medical treatments to lower testosterone levels.
Previous Rules
Until now, the IOC allowed transgender women to compete if their testosterone stayed below a certain level.
Each sport could set its own detailed rules. Under the new leadership of IOC President Kirsty Coventry, the committee intends to introduce one unified policy.
Coventry has said she wants to protect the women’s category and base decisions on scientific evidence.
New Findings
Dr. Jane Thornton, the IOC’s medical and scientific director, presented the initial findings last week in Lausanne.
She explained that evidence shows clear physical differences remain even after hormone treatment. Sources who attended said the presentation was factual and unemotional. Many IOC members reportedly gave strong support to the findings.
To Be Announced in Winter
The new policy is expected to be announced early next year, possibly during the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics in February. The IOC still needs to confirm the legal framework to make the rule enforceable. At the moment, the IOC only offers guidance rather than formal eligibility requirements.
Some sports, including athletics and swimming, already ban athletes who have gone through male puberty from competing in women’s events. Others, such as football, still allow it.
To Prevent Disputes
The rule is also expected to address female athletes with differences of sex development, or DSD. These are women born and raised female but with male chromosomes and high testosterone levels.
The decision follows controversy at the 2024 Paris Olympics, when boxers Imane Khelif of Algeria and Lin Yu-Ting of Taiwan won gold despite previous disqualifications for not meeting gender eligibility criteria. The IOC’s new policy aims to prevent similar disputes in future Games.
This article is made and published by Anna Hartz, who may have used AI in the preparation
