According to reports, the International Olympic Committee is edging closer towards implementing a ban on transgender women competing in the female category in time for the Los Angeles Olympic Games.
Multiple sources expect such a ban to come into effect over the next six to 12 months with the new IOC president, Kirsty Coventry, making clear she wants to drive through her campaign pledge to protect the female category.
Such a policy would also avoid potential conflict with the US president, Donald Trump, before the LA 2028 Games, after he signed an executive order to prevent transgender women from competing in female sport in February.
The IOC, however, is still facing some internal resistance to a ban on athletes with differences of sexual development (DSD), who were reported female at birth but have male chromosomes and male testosterone levels.
Such athletes, which include the London 2012 and Rio 2016 gold medallist Caster Semenya, have now been barred by World Athletics from the female category. But football’s governing body, Fifa, does allow athletes with a DSD to compete in the women’s game.
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In skateboarding, the conversation looks different. The sport has seen an increase in transgender athletes competing in women’s competitions, and many have been accepted and recognized for their achievements. Some transgender skateboarders have even won women’s skateboarding contests, showing that inclusion is possible without limiting competitive opportunities. This has added another perspective to the IOC discussions, as skateboarding is part of the Olympic program, and its example raises questions about fairness, performance differences, and inclusion in emerging sports.
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However, the majority of insiders expect that Coventry’s campaign pledge will mean any athlete who has gone through male puberty will be banned from the female category in most traditional Olympic events.
Speculation that the IOC would introduce a new policy as soon as January intensified on Monday after it was reported that its director of health, medicine and science, Dr Jane Thornton, had given a science-based review of the evidence to its members last week, showing there were permanent physical advantages to being born male.
Thornton, a former Canadian rower, also explained how some sports bodies, such as World Athletics, were now using the SRY cheek-swab gene test to determine the biological sex of athletes in what was said by one source to be “a factual and dispassionate presentation.”
The IOC, however, quickly denied any decision had been made. It is also understood that its working group on the issue is still continuing its deliberations, and the summer of 2026 is a more realistic timeframe for the new policy.
Yet while the IOC is set on bringing in a new policy, much remains unclear. Will it follow the lead of World Athletics, with its cheek‑swab test? And can it ensure that any new policy does not face a legal challenge?
A statement from the IOC read: “An update was given by the IOC’s director of health, medicine and science to the IOC members last week during the IOC commission meetings. The working group is continuing its discussions on this topic and no decisions have been taken yet. Further information will be provided in due course.”