The International Olympic Committee has enacted a sweeping ban on transgender women competing in women's events at the Olympics, effective from the 2028 Los Angeles Games. This policy, approved Thursday, restricts Olympic competition to athletes identified as female at birth, requiring a one-time SRY gene screening to verify biological sex. The move aligns with U.S. President Donald Trump's executive order on women's sports and comes after the IOC cited inherent physical advantages males retain even after transitioning. The policy explicitly excludes transgender women who experienced male puberty, a decision driven by concerns over fairness, safety, and integrity in female categories.

No transgender women competed at the recent Paris Games, but the new rules will retroactively apply to grassroots sports programs as well. Caster Semenya, a two-time Olympic champion with differences in sex development (DSD), is among those affected by the policy's medical condition restrictions. The IOC states the changes are not retroactive but will govern all future Olympics and IOC events. This represents a significant shift from the committee's previous approach of advising sports bodies rather than setting unified rules.