The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is moving toward implementing an unprecedented measure: banning transgender women from participating in female categories starting next year. According to The Times, the decision, which would be officially announced at the beginning of 2026, comes after an exhaustive scientific review confirming the existence of permanent physical advantages associated with male biological sex.
Until now, the IOC's regulations allowed transgender women to compete as long as they reduced their testosterone levels to a certain threshold. However, the application was left to each sports federation. Under Kirsty Coventry's presidency, this position would be modified with the goal of protecting the integrity of the female category.
The committee's medical and scientific director, Dr. Jane Thornton, presented last week at a meeting in Lausanne the preliminary results of a report on the participation of trans athletes and athletes with differences in sexual development (DSD) in women's sports. Meanwhile, Thornton, a former Canadian Olympic rower, detailed that the collected evidence demonstrates the persistence of physical advantages derived from male development, even after hormone treatments to reduce testosterone.
"It was a very scientific, objective, and unemotional presentation that clearly laid out the evidence," commented an IOC source. Another member of the organization indicated that the report was received with great acceptance among those present.
