The International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced a new policy on Thursday, March 26, to uphold the fairness and safety of sports competitions. Starting from the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics (LA28), only biological females will be allowed to participate in women’s events.
The new policy dictates that gender verification for female participants will be conducted through genetic testing using saliva, oral swabs, or blood samples. This policy will be implemented starting from the LA28 Olympics.
According to the new policy, “The eligibility for participation in women’s events at the Olympics or any other events organized by the International Olympic Committee, including individual and team sports, is now limited to biological females, as determined by a one-time SRY gene test.”
The IOC explained that the presence of the SRY gene can serve as highly accurate evidence that an athlete has undergone male development. Scientific research has shown that the presence of the SRY gene is inherent for life. Athletes with a negative test result will permanently meet the eligibility criteria for women’s events as per this policy. This testing is expected to be a one-time requirement unless there are reasons to believe the negative result was incorrect.
The International Olympic Committee stated that after consulting with expert panels, they decided to implement this policy with the goal of providing equal opportunities for women in sports.
IOC President Kirsty Coventry stated in a press release that allowing males to compete in women’s sports is “unsafe.”
“As a former athlete, I firmly believe that all Olympic athletes have the right to fair competition. Even the smallest differences can make a difference at the Olympics,” Coventry said. “Therefore, it is clear that allowing biological males to compete in women’s events is unfair. Furthermore, in some sports, it is simply not safe.”
According to a report from Fox News, a report presented at a World Athletics Federation subgroup meeting held in Tokyo in September showed that since 2000, around 50 to 60 athletes with male physiological advantages have reached the finals of global and continental championship women’s events. Additionally, the United Nations stated last October that nearly 900 biological females missed out on podium finishes due to being defeated by transgender athletes.
The report compiled by the organization on “Violence against Women and Girls in Sports” revealed that as of information obtained by March 30 of last year, over 600 female athletes failed to win medals in more than 400 competitions across 29 sports events, resulting in a loss of over 890 medals in total.