Transgender female athletes have been banned from competing in all women’s Olympic events. This is in line with US President Donald Trump’s executive order ahead of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
Last updated: 26/03/26 17:28
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Sky News’ Rob Harris explains why the International Olympic Committee has announced that transgender women will be banned from competing as women starting at the 2028 Olympics.
Sky News’ Rob Harris explains why the International Olympic Committee has announced that transgender women will be banned from competing as women starting at the 2028 Olympics.
The International Olympic Committee has banned transgender women from competing in all women’s events.
This restriction applies to eligibility for women’s category competitions at the Olympic Games or other IOC events (including individual and team competitions).
The IOC said in a statement that the policy is not retrospective and does not apply to “any grassroots sports program or recreational sports program,” adding that it “protects fairness, safety and integrity in the women’s category.”
The IOC said it will now be limited to biological females and will be based on a single test for the SRY gene, which is “fixed throughout life and provides highly accurate evidence that an athlete has experienced male sexual development.”
The organization’s new policy is in line with US President Donald Trump’s executive order on women’s sports ahead of the 2028 Los Angeles Games.
It’s unclear how many, if any, transgender women are competing at the Olympic level. Not a single woman who was born male and has transitioned will compete at the 2024 Paris Summer Games.
The IOC said the eligibility rules, which will apply from July 2028 at the Los Angeles Olympics, “protect the fairness, safety and integrity of the women’s category.”
After the executive board meeting, the IOC released a 10-page policy document that would also restrict female athletes such as double-Olympic runner Caster Semenya, who has a medical condition known as Differences in Sexual Development (DSD).
The IOC and its president, Kirsty Coventry, wanted a clear policy instead of continuing to advise sports governing bodies, which have traditionally drafted their own rules.
In June last year, Coventry became the first woman to lead an Olympic team in its 132-year history, and one of its first major decisions was to review the protection of the women’s category.
Women’s eligibility was a strong theme in last year’s seven-candidate IOC election, with Coventry’s main rival promising stronger policies to lead on the issue.
Ahead of the 2024 Paris Olympics, three elite sports – track and field, swimming and cycling – had already passed rules excluding transgender women who have reached male puberty.
The IOC document details research showing that being born male confers and maintains physical advantages.
“Men experience three important testosterone peaks: in utero, during mini-puberty during infancy, and from adolescence to adulthood,” the document states.
It added that this gives men “a performance advantage based on their individual gender in sports and events that rely on strength, power and endurance.”
Coventry: No pressure from President Trump
IOC President Kirsty Coventry…
“This policy has been a priority for me since long before President Trump entered his second term, so I’m under no pressure from anyone outside the Olympic movement to make anything happen.
“Things are evolving, things are moving forward and we need to make sure we do that.
“The policy states that this policy applies to all Olympic sports, including Youth Olympic sports. This was a really important point for us, so I hope you will go back to the policy and look at all the recommendations and guidelines regarding the safety measures that we want to put in place.”
“We have talked more than ever with many different athletes about how the process should be followed, what it looks like and the support networks that need to be in place for athletes.
“I don’t think it’s going to be limited to athletes of a certain age group. In this implementation process, we want all athletes to go through it. This was the first phase and we’re now moving into the second phase, and we’re working with international federations and national Olympic committees to see how the implementation is going, to help develop these protection opportunities, to make sure that counseling is provided and that dates and athletes are treated in the best possible way.”
“Notable changes from the IOC”
Sky News sports reporter Rob Harris…
“This is a notable change from the IOC, and if you think back to the message back at the Paris 2024 Games, it was for each sport to decide, and we didn’t want to think about a blanket ban on transgender women, and we didn’t want to reintroduce things like gender testing.
“But things changed when Kirsty Coventry was elected IOC President in March 2025. She started talking about protecting the women’s category.
“She has felt increased pressure from the White House and elsewhere since Donald Trump was re-elected. Trump introduced an executive order banning transgender women from women’s sports, ramping up the pressure ahead of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, and said transgender women could be denied visas if they sought to compete in women’s sports.”
“Therefore, this policy was announced amid all the pressure after the IOC reassessed the scientific and medical evidence, assessed the legal feasibility of introducing this policy, consulted with more than 1,000 athletes, and ultimately decided to limit the female category to biological women.”
