Olympics Issue Official Ruling On Female Eligibility

We're still a long time away from the 2028 Summer Games, but the International Olympic Committee has already established a significant policy that'll impact that event.

President Donald Trump has been calling for the Olympics to ban transgender athletes from women's sports. Well, he somewhat got his wish this week. The International Olympic Committee has just agreed to an eligibility policy that'll exclude transgender women athletes from their events.

"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. "It is not retroactive and does not apply to any grassroots or recreational sports programs."

This new policy, which will apply for the Los Angeles Olympics in July 2028, is designed to protect "fairness, safety and integrity" in women's sports.

It's unclear how many athletes will be impacted by this decision. The International Olympic Committee said that it's research determined that athletes who were born male have advantages over females in "strength, power and/or endurance."

There was plenty of controversy at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Algerian boxer Imane Khelif received a lot of backlash during the 2024 Olympics due to questions regarding her gender. She was previously disqualified from the 2023 World Championships for allegedly failing gender eligibility tests. Despite all the drama surrounding her, Khelif won Olympic gold in the welterweight division.

Earlier this year, however, Khelif revealed in interview with the French sports publication L’Equipe that she has the SRY gene.

“We all have different genetics, different hormone levels. I’m not transgender. My difference is natural. This is who I am. I haven’t done anything to change the way nature made me. That’s why I’m not afraid,” Khelif said. “I have taken hormone treatments to lower my testosterone levels for competitions."

Khelif has not yet commented on the International Olympic Committee's new policy.