IOC bans male athletes from competing in women's Olympic sports, cites 'performance advantage'
Trans-identified male athletes will be ineligible to compete on women’s sports teams in the 2028 Olympic Games after the body overseeing the competition created a new policy designed to ensure fairness for female athletes.
The International Olympic Committee unveiled the new Policy on the Protection of the Female (Women’s) Category in Olympic Sport and Guiding Considerations for International Federations and Sports Governing Bodies. The policy, published Thursday, follows the implementation of an IOC framework on fairness, inclusion and non-discrimination on the basis of gender identity and sex variations in November 2021, a review that began in September 2024, and the establishment of a working group in September 2025.
“The most accurate and least intrusive way currently available to screen for sex is by screening for the SRY Gene, which is a segment of DNA that is almost always on the Y chromosome, initiates male sex development in utero, and signals the presence of testes,” the policy states.
Under the new policy, only athletes who test negative for the SRY gene can compete in women’s sports in the Olympic Games.
Athletes who test positive for the SRY gene, including trans-identified male athletes, may compete on men’s sports teams or in an open category in sports or events that do not classify athletes by sex. The policy is not retroactive and will take effect before the 2028 Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles.
The policy highlighted a consensus from the working group that male sex “confers performance advantage in all sports and events that rely on strength, power, and/or endurance” and that “it is necessary and adequate to base eligibility for competition on sex” to “protect fairness in such sports and events, as well as safety, particularly in contact sports.”
“XY Transgender athletes retain male performance advantage due in part to training effects and fixed traits. There is no current evidence that testosterone suppression or gender-affirming hormone treatment eliminates this advantage,” the policy states.
The policy identified advantages men have over women in athletics, including “larger and stronger skeletal muscle and bone, larger and stronger hearts, larger lung size, more red blood cells, and lower body fat than females trained to the equivalent level.” It is estimated that males have a 10% to 12% advantage in running and swimming events, a 20% advantage in most throwing and jumping events, and advantages exceeding 100% in “events that involve explosive power,” such as collision, lifting, and punching sports.
“As a former athlete, I passionately believe in the rights of all Olympians to take part in fair competition,” said IOC President Kirsty Coventry in a statement announcing the policy. “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 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. There must be clear education around the process and counseling available, alongside expert medical advice,” she added.
The IOC is not the first international sporting body to prohibit trans-identified male athletes from competing on women’s sports teams. Other organizations that have taken similar action in recent years include World Aquatics and the World Boxing Council.
Examples of trans-identified male athletes dominating women’s sports, such as swimmer Will “Lia” Thomas winning a national championship, have contributed to policies in several states requiring athletes to compete based on sex rather than gender identity.
Ryan Foley is a reporter for The Christian Post. He can be reached at: ryan.foley@christianpost.com
