Transgender women athletes banned from Olympics by new IOC policy on female eligibility

[demmiblue]

Last edited Thu Mar 26, 2026, 09:47 AM - Edit history (2)

Source: AP

LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) -- Transgender women athletes are now excluded from the Olympics after the IOC agreed to a new eligibility policy on Thursday which aligns with U.S. President Donald Trump's executive order on women's sports ahead of the 2028 Los Angeles Games.

"Eligibility for any female category event at the Olympic Games or any other IOC event, including individual and team sports, is now limited to biological females," the International Olympic Committee said, "determined on the basis of a one‑time SRY gene screening."

It is unclear how many, if any, transgender women are competing at an Olympic level. No woman who transitioned from being born male competed at the 2024 Paris Summer Games.


Read more: https://apnews.com/article/ioc-olympic-transgender-female-eligibility-520cd9cee152a312767a667acf77dbc8

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The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has announced a new Policy on the Protection of the Female (Women’s) Category in Olympic Sport and Guiding Considerations for International Federations and Sports Governing Bodies.

Following today’s approval of the policy by the IOC Executive Board, it will apply for the LA28 Olympic Games onwards, and is no

[hlthe2b]

1. Yet another "solution" seeking an actual problem...

No woman who transitioned from being born male competed at the 2024 Paris Summer Games.

[Shrek]

2. Misleading headline

They are not banned from the Olympics. The linked AP article has a link to the actual policy document, which states:

Athletes with an SRY-positive screen, including XY transgender and androgen-sensitive XY-DSD athletes, continue to be included in all other classifications for which they qualify, for example, they are eligible for
(i) any Male Category, including in a designated Male slot within any mixed category, and
(ii) any open category or in sports and events that do not classify athletes by Sex.

[ColoringFool]

11. The Linked Article Has The Accurate Headline; DU Does Not.

[maxsolomon]

18. Would Imane Khelif be able to compete as female?

Wiki:

In a February 2026 interview with CNN, Khelif revealed that she has high levels of testosterone, which she has been reducing under medical supervision; she also indicated her willingness to undergo the mandatory sex verification tests required by the IOC.

L'Équipe interview
In a February 2026 interview with L'Équipe, Khelif was asked: "To be clear, you have a female phenotype but possess the SRY gene, an indicator of masculinity", to which she responded: "Yes, and it’s natural. I have female hormones." Subsequent reporting interpreted this exchange as her confirming she has the SRY gene. As of February 2026, Khelif had not described herself as intersex or as having a DSD.

Sounds like no?

[JT45242]

3. They had rules on this already about testing for hormone levels --

I have a trans niece who is on puberty blockers. Her testosterone levels are literally orders of magnitude below the threshhold to compete as a female.

She stopped running for her school and is doing crazy stair climb races in skyscrapers instead.

The amount of steroids and other PED being used by athletes is a much larger problem that needs to be addressed.

[FakeNoose]

4. Have they banned steroids yet? Do they even test for overuse of steroids?

[GenThePerservering]

7. Athletes are tested. nt

[Jose Garcia]

5. I have noticed a shift in how Democratic politicians address this issue

A year or two ago they would state that athletes should be permitted to compete based on their gender identity. Now many of them are saying that it is up to the governing bodies of each sport.

[Mysterian]

9. Who are "they?"

Inquiring minds want to know.

[Jose Garcia]

12. Katie Porter and Xavier Becerra are two

While Porter said she is supportive of the current state law, she agreed with Ware.

"These are rules that can and should be set by the governing bodies, and so in the case of California school sports, the California Interscholastic Federation should be making this decision at every level of sports competition," she said.

Like Ware and Porter, Becerra said governing bodies in sports "should decide who plays in the sport."

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trans-athletes-school-sports-california-2026-governors-race/

[Mysterian]

14. When did Porter and Becerra previously state they support trans females' right to play in female school sports?

That's not what your article states.

"However, like Porter and Ware, Becerra was seemingly unaware that California already requires schools to allow participation based on gender identity."

[Shrek]

15. Gavin Newsom

https://calmatters.org/politics/2025/03/newsom-transgender-athletes/

[OhioTim]

6. This Is About The Only Thing

I agree with Trump on. Males competing as females have a huge physical advantage. If it were just about a person competing as an athlete in local competitions, then OK, but you would see females who transitioned to males competing- but you don't. They would be crushed by the competition. I don't know what the psychology around this is, but it allows average male athletes who couldn't win at the high school level to become elite as a transitioned female. BTW- I also understand that this is way overblown. The head of the Ohio High School Athletic Association said that there were less than a handful of transitioned athletes (all biological male) competing in Ohio in 2025.

[GenThePerservering]

8. Not always 'huge' nt

[WinstonSmith4740]

13. Just out of curiosity...

Does anyone (besides Trump, et al, of course), really believe an athlete at any level, is going to go through the process of transitioning just so they can participate in a sport? I have a friend who went through it, and it's not a short process. Plus, any advantage a man might have if competing against women would be gone, because the hormones that contribute to larger muscles and strength are no longer there.

Somehow, I can't imagine any boy or man saying, "Sure, cut off my penis and testicles so I can swim competitively against women."

[LostOne4Ever]

16. That should be a huge red flag to re-evaluate your position on this issue

https://www.advocate.com/news/transgender-women-athletes-no-advantage

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7616231/

[Mysterian]

10. I agree with the IOC policy

I'm sure a lot of Democrats agree with it.

[LostOne4Ever]

17. We disagree with this IOC because we know the science

And we know that the policy is being made because of bigotry!

https://www.advocate.com/news/transgender-women-athletes-no-advantage

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7616231/

The fact that Trump supports this should be a gigantic clue to reconsider your position

[Mysterian]

19. I'm sorry, but two articles are not "the science"

Other scholarly studies have shown an advantage for trans women in women's sports or that more studies are needed.

Given that sports are currently segregated into male and female divisions because of superior male athletic performance, and that estrogen therapy will not reverse most athletic performance parameters, it follows that transgender women will enter the female division with an inherent advantage because of their prior male physiology.

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9331831/

At least 2 years of postpubertal GAHT are necessary to achieve a significant reduction in the effects of male hormones on various physiological parameters. The scientific evidence regarding the impact of GAHT on physical performance is insufficient. Long-term studies are needed, incorporating new biomarkers and morphofunctional parameters, to allow for comparisons of athletic performance across different disciplines between TW and CW.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2530018025000496