The International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced this Thursday, March 26, that only “biological women” will be able to participate in women’s events at the next Olympic Games, which will be held in Los Angeles in 2028. To prove this, the athletes will be subject to a unique genetic test.
With this decision, the IOC seeks to protect competitions in the women’s sector so that there is a universal rule for competitors, after several controversies caused by fragmented regulations.
In this sense, the IOC informed that all athletes wishing to participate in the Olympic Games must from now on undergo genetic testing for the SRY gene, with the aim of assessing whether they are eligible to compete.
“Based on scientific evidence, the IOC considers that the presence of the SRY gene is constant throughout life and represents highly accurate evidence that an athlete has undergone male sexual development”, read a statement from the organization.
Until now, the IOC has refused to apply rules on the participation of transgender people in the Olympic Games, having even, in 2021, instructed international federations to draw up their own guidelines.
When she assumed the presidency of the organization, Kirsty Coventry stated that the International Olympic Committee would lead the adoption of a uniform approach, something that is not currently the case.
In the statement issued this Thursday, Kristy Coventry recalled that “at the Olympics, even the smallest margins can make the difference between victory and defeat.” In this context, he says that “it wouldn’t be fair for biological men to compete in the female category”, even highlighting that “in some sports, it wouldn’t really be safe”.
So far, few openly transgender athletes have participated in the Olympic Games, with New Zealander Laurel Hubbard becoming the first to compete in a gender category other than her birth, when she participated in the shot put competition in 2021.
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