The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has introduced a new sex-testing policy that will restrict the women’s category at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, banning transgender women from competition.
What are the new IOC rules?
On Thursday, IOC president Kirsty Coventry outlined the policy in a video. Under the new rules, all female athletes will be required to undergo a one-time sex-verification testing (a blood sample, saliva or cheek swab) to detect the presence of the sex-determining region (SRY gene), which is the primary gene responsible for initiating male sex development in mammals.
The testing is intended to determine whether an athlete transitioned after male puberty or has differences of sex development (DSD) that may provide a testosterone-related performance advantage.
The International Olympic Committee announces new Policy on the Protection of the Female (Women’s) Category in Olympic Sport.
Read: https://t.co/QcU5IVxyTi pic.twitter.com/3brHorx1k8
— IOC MEDIA (@iocmedia) March 26, 2026
If the SRY gene is detected, the athlete will be ineligible to compete in the women’s category.
Coventry said the measures are designed to ensure fairness in women’s sport and are based on scientific evidence, with athletes’ best interests in mind.
More than 10,000 athletes competed at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games; none were transgender female. In Tokyo in 2021, Laurel Hubbard became the first transgender athlete to compete in the Olympics, taking part in the weightlifting competition.
Athletes who test negative will be eligible to compete in the women’s category. Those who test positive will be ineligible. There is a narrow exception for athletes who have 46XY chromosomes, or similar rare DSD conditions, where testosterone does not provide a performance benefit.
These new measures will be required for all female athletes looking to compete at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics and beyond.
How does IOC rule compare to cycling’s rules?
In recent years, multiple national and global federations have taken similar decisions in cycling regarding transgender athletes in competition. What the rules are differs from sport to sport and nation to nation. Cycling Canada has its own rules, but they differ from those of the sport’s global body, the Union Cycliste Internationale.
The UCI’s 2023 regulations
UCI’s rules date went into effect back in 2023. Those rules use a different test than…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at Canadian Cycling Magazine…