IOC Bans Transgender Women From 2028 Los Angeles Olympics With Mandatory One-Time DNA Test

The International Olympic Committee announced Thursday that all women wishing to compete at the 2028 Los Angeles Summer Olympics must undergo mandatory SRY gene screening, effectively barring transgender women and most athletes with differences in sexual development from female category events. The sweeping policy, announced by IOC President Kirsty Coventry in Lausanne, Switzerland, represents the most significant restriction on transgender athletes in Olympic history and will apply immediately to all IOC-sanctioned competitions, with full enforcement beginning at the LA28 Games.

Under the new 10-page policy, eligibility for any female category event "is now limited to biological females, determined on the basis of a one-time SRY gene screening." The SRY gene, located on the Y chromosome, triggers male sex development during embryonic development. Athletes who screen negative permanently satisfy the eligibility criteria and need never be tested again. Those who test positive will generally be barred unless they are diagnosed with Complete Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome or certain other rare disorders of sex development, which the IOC listed as narrow exceptions. The test itself is a simple one-time cheek swab or blood sample that can be administered at any accredited Olympic laboratory worldwide.

Coventry defended the policy as scientifically grounded. "The policy we have announced is based on science, and it has been led by medical experts with the best interest of athletes at its heart," she said at the announcement. "Our responsibility as the IOC is to protect the integrity of women's sport, while also respecting the dignity and human rights of all athletes." The IOC said it had consulted with dozens of medical experts, athletes, and national Olympic committees over a two-year review process before arriving at the new framework, which replaces a 2021 framework that had given individual sports federations the authority to set their own transgender eligibility rules.

The Trump administration immediately claimed credit for the decision. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt posted on social media that Trump's executive order barring transgender athletes from women's competitions in colleges and schools "made this happen," crediting the president with influencing the international body. French sports minister Amélie Oudéa-Castéra, however, called the move "a step backwards," noting that France officially hosted the 2024 Paris Games under a framework allowing transgender and intersex athletes to compete and that the new policy raises "profound questions about how we protect both inclusion and competitive fairness." The French Olympic Committee said it would seek legal counsel on whether the policy could be challenged under EU non-discrimination law.

Several transgender Olympic athletes who competed in Paris expressed devastation at the decision, while sports advocacy groups warned that the IOC's action sets a precedent for genetic gatekeeping that could ripple through professional leagues and school athletics worldwide. The policy comes less than 28 months before the opening ceremony of the Los Angeles Games, giving athletes and advocacy groups limited time to mount legal challenges. Some sports lawyers noted the policy could face scrutiny under California state law, which broadly prohibits discrimination based on gender identity — potentially creating a conflict between state civil rights statutes and Olympic eligibility rules on U.S. soil for the first time.