Sports/Global Desk: Transgender women would no longer be permitted to participate in women’s category sports events in the Olympic Games. Through the new Policy on the Protection of the Female (Women’s) Category in the Olympic Sport, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has furnished new eligibility criteria for female sportspersons’ participation in the games.
As per the policy, eligibility for any female category individual or team sports event would be restricted to participants who are biologically female only. This would be applicable from the 2028 Los Angeles Games or any other event linked with the IOC.
The biological genders of the sportspersons will be determined through a SRY gene screening, which is a one-time test that can detect the presence or absence of the SRY gene in individuals. Due to its scientific proof, the IOC considers the presence of SRY gene is fixed throughout one’s life and stands as significantly accurate evidence of male sex development in an athlete.
The policy also says that athletes screening negative for the SRY gene permanently becomes ineligible for participation in any female category event, except there is a reason to believe that a result is due to an error. Besides, athletes diagnosed with Complete Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome (CAIS) or any other rare differences/disorders in sex development (DSDs) who gain nothing from the anabolic or performance enhancing effects of testosterone, none with positive test of SRY will be eligible for any sport category at IOC events.
Reflecting on the policy, former Olympian and IOC President Kristy Coventry said as a former athlete she passionately believed in the rights of all Olympians to take part in fair competition, as even a smallest margin could differentiate victory and defeat and it would be absolutely unfair and unsafe for biological males to participate in female categories.
She also stated that the new policy was based on science, led by medical experts.
The debate regarding the fairness of transgender’s participation in female sports began after transgender boxers Imane Kheilf from Algeria and Lin Yu-ting from Taiwan grabbed gold medals in 2024 Paris Games defeating biological females. It also ignited a political debate about transgender rights between liberal and conservative sides.
Source: Olympics.com (International Olympic Committee)
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