Olympics Committee Bans Transgender Athletes From Competing in Women's Events. Here's What the Policy Says

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) on Thursday announced that transgender women athletes will not be allowed to participate in women’s events. “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 IOC said . The new policy will be applied beginning at the 2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles.

The IOC noted that “it is not retroactive and does not apply to any grassroots or recreational sports programs. ” IOC President Kirsty Coventry, a former Olympic swimmer, called the policy “a protection of the female category” and acknowledged the “very sensitive” nature of the topic in a video accompanying the IOC announcement. The White House celebrated the decision, which aligns with an Executive Order President Donald Trump signed after returning to the White House last year, and credited Trump for the move—though the IOC made no reference to the President in its announcement.

“President Trump's Executive Order protecting women's sports made this happen! ” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt wrote on X. Read more: Inside the Right-Wing Movement to Ban Trans Youth From Sports Human rights groups have previously spoken against using sex testing to determine athletes’ eligibility, however, and advocacy organizations have condemned the IOC’s plans to develop genetic testing requirements and prohibit transgender athletes from competing.

Last week, ahead of the committee’s announcement, dozens of groups decried such a move as an “astounding rollback on gender equality” that would “set women’s sport back 30 years. ” Here’s what to know about the Olympics committee’s new policy. How will athletes be screened under the new policy?