The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has announced that male athletes will no longer be allowed to compete in women’s events at the Olympics, starting with the 2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles.
IOC President Kirsty Coventry, a former Olympic swimmer from Zimbabwe, revealed the new rule Thursday, emphasizing her commitment to safeguarding the integrity of women’s sports. Coventry, the first woman and first African to hold the Olympic presidency, began her term overseeing the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Games, marking the 25th edition of the Winter Olympics.
“The policy that we have announced is based on science and it has been led by medical experts with the best interest of athletes at its heart. The scientific evidence is very clear: male chromosomes give performance advantages in sports that rely on strength, power, or endurance,” Coventry stated in a video message.
She added, “At the Olympic games, even the smallest margins can be the difference between victory and defeat. So it’s absolutely clear that it would not be fair for biological males to compete in the female category. In addition, in some sports, it would simply not be safe.”
The announcement concludes a multi-year review by the IOC into female athletic categories, which began in September 2024. In September 2025, the organization formed a working group to assess recent scientific research, medical developments, and legal changes since 2021. Specialists in sports science, endocrinology, transgender medicine, and women’s health were among those involved in developing the policy.
Previously, individual sports’ governing bodies determined their own rules for sex-based competition. Track and field, swimming, and cycling were among the major sports that already prohibited athletes who had undergone male puberty from competing in female categories, reports National Review.
Under the new guidelines, women will need to undergo a one-time genetic test to confirm eligibility, though the policy will not apply retroactively and excludes recreational programs.
High-profile athletes affected by the policy include two-time Olympic champion runner Caster Semenya, who has a condition known as differences in sex development (DSD) resulting in elevated testosterone levels, and Algerian boxer Imane Khelif, who competed in the female division at the 2024 Paris Olympics before recently acknowledging that he is male.
Former IOC President Thomas Bach, commenting on Khelif’s situation, noted that the traditional chromosomal distinction between male and female is no longer considered absolute. “It is not as easy as some may, in this culture war, may now want to portray it, that the XX or the XY is the clear distinction between the men and women. This is scientifically not true anymore,” Bach said.
The IOC’s decision comes amid growing international backlash against men competing in women’s sports. Across 29 sports, women have lost hundreds of medals to male competitors, and the inherent strength differences can create safety concerns.