IOC: genetic screening for female sex determination (SRY gene) reinstated for access to women's events

"Eligibility for any female category event at the Olympic Games or any other IOC event, including individual and team sports, is now limited to biological females, determined on the basis of a one‑time SRY gene screening," the International Olympic Committee announced on 26/03/2026. These provisions effectively exclude transgender and intersex athletes carrying the SRY gene from women’s categories.

The IOC Executive Board has adopted a new "Policy on the protection of the female (women's) category in olympic sport and guiding considerations for International Federations and sports governing bodies," which will apply from the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games onwards, with no retroactive effect, and does not apply to any grassroots or recreational sports programmes.

"Eligibility for the female category is to be determined in the first instance by SRY gene screening to detect the absence or presence of the SRY gene," the world body explained. This decision therefore reinstates chromosome testing, which was already in place in the Olympic movement from 1968 to 1996. The IOC describes the…