Big news before the 2028 Los Angeles Games: transgender athletes can't compete in women's sports at the Olympics.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) approved a new eligibility policy on Thursday that says transgender women athletes can't compete in women's events at the Olympics anymore. The decision is in line with an executive order from U.S. President Donald Trump that was made before the 2028 Los Angeles Games.

According to the new rules, only biological females will be able to compete in female Olympic events. The International Olympic Committee said, "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." This will be decided by a required gene test once in an athlete's career.

The number of transgender athletes competing at the Olympic level is still unknown. None took part in the Olympics in Paris in 2024. Laurel Hubbard, a weightlifter, participated in the 2021 Tokyo Games but did not take home a medal. Notably, Imane Khelif is a biological woman who received criticism due to her gender.

The IOC stated that the goal of the policy, which will go into effect during the 2028 Olympics, is to guarantee integrity, safety, and fairness in women's sports. Grassroots and recreational programs will not be covered, nor will it apply retroactively.

"It is not retroactive and does not apply to any grassroots or recreational sports programs," stated the IOC, whose Olympic Charter declares that participation in sports is a human right.

Athletes with differences in sex development (DSD) are also impacted by the policy. Instead of continuing to advise sports governing bodies that have previously created their own regulations, the IOC and its president, Kirsty Coventry, have called for a clear policy. Coventry, a two-time Olympic gold medallist in swimming, stated in a statement that "even the smallest margins can be the difference between victory and defeat at the Olympic Games." "There is no doubt that it would be unfair for biological males to compete in the female category."

In June of last year, Kirsty Coventry, the first woman to lead the IOC in its 132-year history, initiated a review aimed at "protecting the female category." This was one of her first significant initiatives.

Following the controversy surrounding women's boxing at the Olympics in Paris, the topic of female eligibility became a major focus of last year's seven-candidate IOC presidential election. A number of Coventry's competitors had demanded more stringent regulations.

Transgender women who had experienced male puberty were already prohibited from participating in major sports like cycling, swimming, and athletics prior to the 2024 Paris Games. In the meantime, South African runner Caster Semenya, who was assigned female at birth but has naturally high testosterone levels, won a ruling at the European Court of Human Rights in her protracted legal battle against athletic regulations, even though the regulations themselves stayed the same.

The IOC says that its research shows that people who were born male still have physical advantages. A group of experts talked about three important times when testosterone levels rise: before birth, during infancy, and during puberty and into adulthood. These changes can affect strength, power, and endurance.

The IOC said that gene testing, especially looking for the SRY gene that is usually found on the Y chromosome, is the most accurate and least invasive way to find out if someone is eligible.

Human rights groups and advocacy groups are likely to speak out against mandatory gender testing, which is already used in sports like athletics, skiing, and boxing.