The IOC is moving closer to a ban on transgender women in female Olympic events

The International Olympic Committee is moving closer to introducing a ban on transgender women competing in the female category in time for the Los Angeles Olympics.

Multiple sources expect such a ban to come into effect in the next six to 12 months, with the new IOC president, Kirsty Coventry, making it clear she wants to make good on her campaign promise to protect the female category.

Such a policy would also avoid potential conflict with US President Donald Trump before the LA 2028 Games, after he signed an executive order in February to prevent transgender women from competing in women’s sports.

However, the IOC still faces some internal resistance to a ban on athletes with differences in sexual development (DSD), who were reported as female at birth but have male chromosomes and male testosterone levels.

Such athletes, including London 2012 and Rio 2016 gold medalist Caster Semenya, have now been banned from the female category by World Athletics. But football’s governing body, FIFA, does allow athletes with a DSD to participate in women’s football.

However, the majority of insiders expect that Coventry’s campaign promise will mean that any athlete who has gone through male puberty will be excluded from the female category.

Speculation that the IOC would introduce a new policy as early as January intensified on Monday after it was reported that the director of health, medicine and science, Dr Jane Thornton, had last week given a science-based review of the evidence to its members showing there are permanent physical benefits to being born male.

Thornton, a former Canadian rower, also explained how some sporting organizations, such as World Athletics, were now using the SRY cheek swab gene test to determine the biological sex of athletes in what one source said was “a factual and down-to-earth presentation.”

However, the IOC quickly denied that a decision had been made. It is also clear that the working group on this issue is still continuing its deliberations, and that summer 2026 is a more realistic time frame for the new policy.

But while the IOC is determined to introduce a new policy, much remains unclear. Will it follow the lead of World Athletics, with its cheek swab test? And can it ensure that new policy does not encounter a legal problem?

A statement from the IOC said: “Last week, an update was provided by the IOC Director of Health, Medicine and Science to IOC Members at the IOC Committee meetings. The Working Group is continuing its discussions on this topic and no decisions have yet been made. Further information will be provided in due course.”