Transgender women and DSD athletes have been slammed with a ban by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) from the female category of events at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, as well as, future games.
The decision has received a thumb up from Donald Trump, President of the United States (US), on Truth Social.
Trump congratulated the IOC, and said, the Committee made the decision following his “powerful” Executive Order – the US President had signed an Executive Order banning transgender women from female sports in America, and called on Sports Bodies across the world to take the same action.
President of the IOC, Kirsty Coventry, said, the decision had been made because “it would not be fair for biological males to compete in the female category”.
The Committee also made known, all athletes that want to compete in the female category at future Olympics will have to undergo a one-off SRY (sex determining region Y gene) screening to verify their biological sex.
Normally, that is done via an unintrusive cheek-swab or saliva test.
President Trump said: “Congratulations to the International Olympic Committee on their decision to ban Men from Women’s Sports. This is only happening because of my powerful Executive Order, standing up for Women and Girls!”
The decision applies to elite individual and team sports; it was based on science and would ensure the protection of the fairness and safety of women’s sport, the IOC President said.
Coventry said: “As a former athlete, I passionately believe in the rights of all Olympians to take part in fair competition.
“The policy that we have announced is based on science and has been led by medical experts. At the Olympic Games, even the smallest margins can be the difference between victory and defeat.
“So, it is absolutely clear that it would not be fair for biological males to compete in the female category. In addition, in some sports it would simply not be safe.
“Every athlete must be treated with dignity and respect, and athletes will need to be screened only once in their lifetime.”
For over a decade, Sports have been battling with the problem of transgender and DSD (differences in sex development) participation in the female category.
In 2021, Laurel Hubbard, weightlifter from New Zealand, emerged the first transgender woman to compete at an Olympics after transitioning.
There have also been several high-profile cases of DSD athletes, who according to reports were born female, however, possess male chromosomes and male testosterone levels, winning Olympic medals; they encompass, Caster Semenya, from South Africa, winner of London 2012 and Rio 2016 women’s 800m Olympic gold; and the boxer Imane Khelif in Paris in 2024.
Photo: Kirsty Coventry, President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) | Yves Herman/Pool Photo via AP
