The International Olympic Committee (IOC) plans to introduce a new policy that will prohibit “transgender” female athletes from competing against biological women, according to multiple reports. The rule will reportedly include athletes with differences of sex development (DSD).
The IOC currently allows each sport’s governing body to determine eligibility for “transgender” athletes. However, The Times of London reported that new leadership at the IOC will implement stricter rules to protect women’s competition categories.
IOC President Kirsty Coventry voiced support for the change earlier this year, emphasizing the importance of maintaining fairness. “We understand that there’ll be differences depending on the sport … but it was very clear from the members that we have to protect the female category, first and foremost to ensure fairness,” Coventry said in June, according to Fox News. “But we need to do that with a scientific approach and the inclusion of the international federations who have already done a lot of work in this area.”
The IOC is expected to announce the updated policy at its February session ahead of the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics in Italy. The decision follows a presentation last week by Dr. Jane Thornton, the IOC’s medical and scientific director. According to The Times, Thornton’s data showed that males retain physical advantages even after undergoing testosterone suppression.
A source described the presentation as “very scientific” and unemotional. An IOC spokesperson confirmed the update, telling Fox News Digital, “The working group is continuing its discussions on this topic and no decisions have been taken yet. Further information will be provided in due course.”
The new policy will also apply to athletes with DSD—those born with male traits but raised as female. The issue gained attention after Algeria’s Imane Khelif and Taiwan’s Lin Yu-Ting won gold medals in the women’s boxing division, despite previously failing gender tests.
World Boxing has since instituted mandatory sex testing. The organization announced that Khelif must complete testing before competing again.