The International Olympic Committee has taken steps that bring it closer to imposing a blanket ban on transgender women competing in female categories across sports. IOC president Kirsty Coventry, who made the issue a campaign focus, set up a working group on protecting women’s sport. The IOC says its review is ongoing and no decisions have been taken, but BBC Sport sources report that after a briefing by the IOC’s medical and scientific director a general ban is likely to be announced in 2026.
Dr Jane Thornton presented early findings from a science-led review that, according to reports, indicate athletes who experienced male puberty retain physiological advantages even after lowering testosterone. Those findings have reinforced expectations of a new universal rule. Any broad prohibition is not expected before the 2026 Winter Olympics but could be introduced ahead of the 2028 Los Angeles Games. The committee’s review is also examining how to treat athletes with differences of sex development (DSD), though prospects for new DSD-specific rules remain less clear.
Historically, the IOC has left eligibility rules on sex and gender to individual international federations; many have pe
