"As a former athlete, I believe in the right of all Olympians to participate in fair competition. The policy we have presented is based on science and has been led by medical experts," said IOC President Kirsty Coventry in a press release.
Anyone who wants to compete in the women's events must undergo a gender test to determine whether they are biologically female. The test looks for the SRY gene, the gene that triggers male development by initiating testosterone production.
“Not fair”
The gene remains even if someone assigned male at birth transitions to female, which means they are excluded from competing as a woman in the Olympics.
"In the Olympic Games, the smallest of margins can be the difference between victory and defeat. Therefore, it is quite obvious that it would not be fair for biological males to compete in the women's category. Furthermore, in some sports it would simply not be safe," Coventry says.
The IOC is not the first to introduce gender testing. The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) introduced SRY gene testing ahead of the World Championships in Tokyo last fall. And the International Ski Federation, FIS, is set to introduce a similar test ahead of the World Championships in Falun next year.
Even before the 2024 Paris Olympics, athletics, swimming and cycling introduced rules that barred people who transitioned from male to female after puberty.
Storm of criticism in Paris
It was after the storm of criticism in Paris, when two female boxers with XY chromosomes, which are typically found in men, were allowed to compete in the women's division, that the IOC began reviewing the rules.
Both Imane Khelif, of Algeria, and Lin Yu-Ting, of Taiwan, won gold in Paris. Lin has since been cleared to compete in the women's division in competitions organized by World Boxing, the organization that will run boxing at the Los Angeles Olympics.
One of the first decisions that US President Donald Trump made after being elected a little over a year ago was to stop transgender women from competing.
Gender testing was introduced to the Olympics in 1968 and was last used at Atlanta in 1996.
Corrected: Incorrect wording appeared in a quote in a previous version.
