On Thursday, March 26, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced a new policy entitled, “Policy on the Protection of the Female Category in Olympic Sport.” This policy will apply for the 2028 Olympics games in Los Angeles and onwards, though it does not apply to grassroots or recreational sports programs.
A compulsory gene testing will prevent transgender women from competing in women’s events as well as some athletes with differences in sex development (DSD). Based on scientific evidence and medical research, the presence of an SRY gene is fixed throughout life and represents highly accurate evidence that an athlete has experienced male sex development. Eligibility for the female category will depend on a positive or negative SRY gene screening.
At the conference, the IOC President Kirsty Coventry said, “It is absolutely clear that it would not be fair for biological males to compete in the female category. In addition, in some sports it would simply not be safe.”
With this test now in place, eligibility for any female category event at the Olympic Games is now limited to biological females. The policy was developed on the belief that it is universally accepted that having a female category is essential to allow both males and females equal access to elite sport. This decision was through an athlete-centered approach and led by goals relating to equality, such as fair opportunities, enhancing Olympic value and the working
group on the protection of the female category. For this reason, the Olympic Movement has an increasing interest in having a sex-based female category.
Athletes have provided crucial feedback through online surveys, in-depth interviews with impacted athletes from around the world, and through a presentation and discussion with members of the Athlete’s Commission. Feedback from the athletes revealed that there was a strong consensus that fairness and safety required clear, science-based eligibility rules.
Maine law currently goes in the opposite direction to this belief as Maine’s Human Rights Act explicitly protects gender identity. Schools are expected to allow transgender students to compete based on their gender identity, not their sex assigned at birth. There is already an active legal and political debate happening around this topic in Maine which will further increase the pressure from federal and national policies. Court cases and federal interpretations of Title IX are still ongoing and could affect Maine’s policies and cause conflict between state law and athletic associations.
Even though the Olympics are elite-level, their standards often affect other sports organizations such as the NCAA and other governing bodies that sometimes align with their views. The University of Maine follows rules set by the NCAA, which have already been moving toward stricter eligibility rules in recent years because they align with international standards, like the Olympics. Regardless of state law, if the NCAA tightens rules further, this would directly affect UMaine athletes.
