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The International Olympic Committee (IOC) will adopt a new policy that will ban transgender female athletes from competing against biological women, according to multiple reports. The policy is reportedly set to cover those with differences in gender development (DSD).
The IOC’s current policy leaves it up to each sport’s governing body to create policies for transgender athletes. But with the IOC changing leadership, The Times of London reported on Monday that its policies will also change.
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A general view of the Olympic rings in front of the Olympia delle Tofane ski slope during the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics – 1 Year To Go event on February 6, 2025 in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy. (Francesco Scaccianoce/Getty Images)
IOC president Kirsty Coventry called for “protecting” the women’s category in June, and there was “overwhelming support” from IOC members to do the same.
“We understand that there will be differences depending on the sport … but it was very clear from members that we need to protect the women’s category, first and foremost to ensure fairness,” Coventry said at the time.
“But we have to do it with a scientific approach and the involvement of the international federations, which have already done a lot of work in this area.”
The upcoming policy change is likely to be announced at the IOC session in February before the Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina, Italy, and comes after a presentation by Dr. Jane Thornton, the IOC’s medical and scientific director, last week, according to The Times.
Kirsty Coventry reacts after she was announced as the new IOC president at the 144th session of the International Olympic Committee in Costa Navarino, western Greece, Thursday, March 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Thanasis Stavrakis)
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Thornton’s presentation allegedly showed that there were physical benefits in men, including those taking treatments to reduce testosterone levels. A source told the paper that the presentation was “very scientific” and unemotional.
Athletes with DSD – those who were raised as female but born with male characteristics – are to be covered by the new policy, according to The Times. Olympic boxing had two major controversies about athletes who failed gender tests in the past.
Algeria’s Imane Khelif and Taiwan’s Lin Yu-Ting won gold medals in their respective weight classes in the women’s division despite much turmoil. Khelif has insisted they were women. Lin has not commented on the controversy since the Olympics ended.
Imane Khelif (red) of Team Algeria competes against Anna Luca Hamori (blue) of Team Hungary in the women’s 66 kg quarter-final boxing match during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at the North Paris Arena, in Villepinte, France on August 3, 2024. Khelif wins the match and advanced to the semi-finals. (Mehmet Murat Onel/Anadolu via Getty Images)
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World Boxing has since implemented mandatory gender testing for its competitors and Khelif will not be able to compete unless the test is completed.
Pakinomist Digital contacted the IOC for comment.
