He International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced this Thursday its new protection policy for the female category in Olympic sport, by virtue of which only biological women will be able to compete in it, a rule that will apply from the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games.
Eligibility for the women’s category will be determined in the first instance by a test of SRY gene detection, only present in biological men, who must test negative.
“The IOC considers that the presence of the SRY gene is fixed throughout life and constitutes highly precise proof that an athlete has experienced male sexual development,” said the statement in which the new standard was announced, approved this Thursday in a session of the Executive Committee.
“Rare exceptions” will be considered as athletes diagnosed with complete androgen insensitivity syndrome or other differences or disorders of sexual development who do not benefit from the anabolic or performance-enhancing effects of testosterone.
In contrast, XY transgender athletes (biological men) and those with androgen-sensitive sexual development disorders must compete in male categories.
According to the IOC, the test to detect it, with saliva or blood extraction, is not very intrusive compared to other possible methods and it is enough to do it once in a lifetime.
“The policy we have announced is based on science and has been developed by medical experts,” IOC President Kirsty Coventry said in the statement, adding that it is unfair “and in some sports it is not safe” for biological males to compete in the women’s category.
The new policy has been developed by a working group created by the IOC to respond to the growing controversies related to women’s sports.
Among them, those that arose in Paris 2024 around the victories of boxers Imane Khelif (Algeria) and Lin Yu‑ting (Taiwan), who had been disqualified from the 2023 World Cup by the international federation (IBA) after supposedly failing gender eligibility tests.
The new norm, highlighted the IOC, “protects equity, safety and integrity in the women’s category”.
It will be used in all disciplines of the sports program of an IOC event, including the Olympic Games and in both individual and team sports, although the organization clarified that it does not apply to grassroots or recreational sports programs.
According to the IOC, the standard was developed “on the basis that it is universally accepted that the existence of a women’s category is necessary to allow men and women equal access to elite sport.”
