Overview
- The IOC unveiled the policy Thursday, setting female-category eligibility by a once-in-a-lifetime screen for the SRY gene, a marker on the Y chromosome that triggers male sex development.
- The rule applies across all IOC events beginning with the Los Angeles 2028 Games, is not retroactive, and does not extend to grassroots or recreational sport.
- Athletes who test SRY‑negative are permanently eligible for women’s events, while most with differences of sex development who test positive are ineligible except rare cases such as Complete Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome.
- International federations and national Olympic bodies will administer saliva, cheek-swab, or blood tests, and the IOC says athletes from countries that prohibit such testing can be screened when they travel.
- The White House praised the move as consistent with President Trump’s order as human-rights and advocacy groups condemned mandatory genetic screening and signaled likely challenges at the Court of Arbitration for Sport and through UN experts citing privacy and consent concerns.