WORLD

Transgender women athletes banned from Olympics by new IOC policy on female eligibility

Mar 26, 2026, 6:05 AM

FILE - IOC President Kirsty Coventry speaks during the Olympic opening ceremony at the 2026 Winter ...

FILE - IOC President Kirsty Coventry speaks during the Olympic opening ceremony at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Friday, Feb. 6, 2026. (Yves Herman/Pool Photo via AP, File)
Credit: ASSOCIATED PRESS

(Yves Herman/Pool Photo via AP, File)

LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) — Transgender women athletes are now excluded from the Olympics after the IOC agreed to a new eligibility policy on Thursday which aligns with U.S. President Donald Trump’s executive order on women’s sports ahead of the 2028 Los Angeles Games.

“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 International Olympic Committee said, “determined on the basis of a one‑time SRY gene screening.”

It is unclear how many, if any, transgender women are competing at an Olympic level. No woman who transitioned from being born male competed at the 2024 Paris Summer Games.

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AP Winter Olympics at https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics

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Transgender women athletes banned from Olympics by new IOC policy on female eligibility