The International Olympic Committee has barred transgender athletes from competing in the women’s category of the Olympics and said that all participants in those events must undergo genetic testing.
The decision, the most consequential since Kirsty Coventry was elected last year as the first woman to serve as president of the I.O.C., followed a board meeting and months of speculation over the organization’s policy on one of the most contentious issues facing global sports. The rules will be applicable starting at the next Olympics, in Los Angeles in 2028.
Under the new policy eligibility will be determined by a one-time gene test, according to the I.O.C. The test, which is already being used in track and field, requires screening via saliva, a cheek swab or a blood sample.
She added the new policy “is based on science and has been led by medical experts.” The ruling has no bearing on recreational sports, while athletes self-identifying as transgender men are not barred from competing in women’s event.
Ms. Coventry said in a news conference after the announcement that her perspective had not been influenced by any views held by the American president.
She added that she expected affected athletes to appeal to sports’ top court, the Court of Arbitration for Sport, which previously heard cases on gender eligibility. The ruling on Thursday, she said, was at heart rooted in fairness and safety on the field of play.
The I.O.C.’s announcement comes just days after boxing officials cleared the featherweight champion Lin Yu-ting to return to the sport after her (sic) status — along with that of the Algerian boxer Imane Khelif, the other woman (sic) at the center of the debate in Paris — had been put in doubt. Lin, 30, can now compete at the Asian Boxing Championships this weekend, her first international event since the Paris Olympics.
The I.O.C. ruling also — with the exception of the rarest cases — eliminates from women’s competition a minority of athletes who do not have the typical female XX sex chromosomes, and have one of several conditions that together are known as differences in sex development. Some people do not know they have such differences. But their unusual genetics can result in high levels of testosterone and possibly greater muscular development, giving them some of the athletic advantage that men have. All DSD athletes could compete in male or mixed competitions, according the new ruling.
Source: Olympic Committee Bars Transgender Athletes From Women’s Events – The New York Times