IOC Proposes Blanket Ban on Transgender Athletes for 2028 Olympics
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is reportedly planning to implement a complete ban on all transgender athletes from competing at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, according to a Daily Mail Sport report. However, no final decision has been made, and the case of athletes with Differences of Sexual Development (DSD), like Imane Khelif, remains under separate review.
Key Developments
- IOC, under President Kirsty Coventry, is discussing a major policy shift to replace current sport-by-sport rules with a blanket ban for the 2028 Games.
- The new policy is not expected before the upcoming Winter Olympics and may take 6-12 months to implement fully.
- No decision has been made regarding athletes with DSD conditions.
Current Rules and Context
Presently, individual sports federations set their own eligibility criteria, often based on testosterone levels. This allowed Laurel Hubbard, who transitioned in 2012, to compete in weightlifting at the Tokyo Olympics.
The proposed change was a key part of Kirsty Coventry’s successful campaign for the IOC presidency. This development follows a recent executive order by US President Donald Trump aimed at restricting transgender women’s participation in female sports.
Official IOC Position
The IOC has clarified that discussions are ongoing and no final decisions have been made. In a statement to Daily Mail Sport, the committee said: “An update was given by the IOC’s director of health, medicine and science to the IOC Members last week during the IOC commission meetings. The working group is continuing its discussions on this topic, and no decisions have been taken yet.”
Dr. Jane Thornton, IOC director of health and science, recently presented a scientific review distinguishing between transgender athletes and those with DSD—athletes with male chromosomes who were raised female. Algerian boxer Imane Khelif, who won gold at Paris 2024, falls into the latter category and her eligibility remains undecided.
