Olympic women's sport to be limited to biological females / Photo: Luca Bruno - POOL/AFP
-
Mistral says would not interfere if its AI is used by defence customers
-
Canada PM backs 'fortress North America' ahead of US trade talks
-
Flooding in north and east Syria as Euphrates level rises
-
Defending champion Gauff reaches French Open third round
-
Musk defends AI ambitions as IPO reveals trouble
-
Five things to know about heatwaves in Europe
-
Israel freezes out UN chief over sexual violence blacklist
-
US, Iran agree deal framework but need Trump sign-off: sources
-
Italy on red alert as France, Portugal beat hottest May day record
-
Oil advances, stocks drift on fresh US-Iran strikes
-
'Terrorist' knife attack wounds 3 at Swiss train station: official
-
'You are not alone' in Ebola fight, vows DR Congo-bound WHO chief
-
Sinner 'hits wall' as French Open bid collapses
-
France's Magnier sprints to Giro 18th stage win, Vingegaard in pink
-
Top EU economies vow to speed up financial integration
-
Israeli strike near Beirut as Lebanon says raids kill 14
-
Mosquitoes can learn to love common repellent, scientists find
-
US revises first quarter growth down while inflation climbs
-
Italy on red alert as Portugal beats record for hottest May day
-
Latvia gets new centre-right govt after row over stray Ukraine drones
-
France's Kouame, 17, youngest man into Slam third round since Nadal
-
Netflix criticises German plan to make streamers invest more locally
-
'Dizzy' Sinner wilts in French Open heat, out in second round
-
Ailing Sinner crashes out of French Open, Sabalenka waits
-
Italy on red alert as heatwave bakes Europe
-
UK risks a 'lost generation' of jobless young people
-
Attacker wounds three at Swiss train station with 'bladed weapon'
-
Neymar a doubt for Brazil's World Cup opener due to injury
-
Norway's Queen leaves hospital amidst mounting fears over princess
-
US, Iran accuse each other of violating truce after attacks
-
France inches towards symbolic repealing of slavery legislation
-
Oil climbs, stocks drop on fresh US-Iran strikes
-
Scotland boss Clarke signs new four-year contract
-
Italian police seize $232 mn in late mafia boss's assets
-
EU fines Temu 200 mn euros over illegal products
-
Fire in Kenya girls' school dorm kills 16
-
French AI firm Mistral announces deals with BMW, Airbus
-
US, Iran trade strikes in most serious clash since truce began
-
'Immense' leverage: why AI chip workers are demanding more
-
Online horror phenomenon turns movie blockbuster with 'Backrooms'
-
Latvia to get new govt after row over stray drones
-
Oil rises and Asia stocks slide after new US strikes on Iran
-
France moves towards symbolic repealing of slavery legislation
-
'Six machine' Sooryavanshi, 15, stakes India claim with new stunning knock
-
China's military says drove away Dutch warship in South China Sea
-
Israel strikes Tyre after declaring 'combat zones' in south Lebanon
-
US strikes Iran, drawing retaliatory attack on American base
-
Temperatures likely to remain at record levels in 2026-2030: UN
-
New Zealand boosts defence spending in face of 'adverse' security environment
-
Australia charges woman with terrorism over IS links
Olympic women's sport to be limited to biological females
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) said on Thursday it was re-introducing testing for gender to determine eligibility to compete in the female category, preventing transgender women from competing.
The screening will mean Olympic women's sports at the 2028 Los Angeles Games will be limited to biological females, which would also rule out those with differences in sexual development (DSD) from competing.
The IOC is abandoning rules it brought in in 2021 which allowed individual federations to decide their own policy and implementing a policy across all sports.
"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 IOC said in a statement.
The test will be carried out through a saliva sample, cheek swab or blood sample.
IOC president Kirsty Coventry said: "The policy we have announced is based on science and has been led by medical experts.
"At the Olympic Games even the smallest margins can be the difference between victory and defeat.
"So 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."
The IOC is bringing in the new policy after the women's boxing competition at the 2024 Paris Olympics was rocked by a gender row involving Algerian fighter Imane Khelif and Lin Yu-ting of Taiwan.
Khelif and Lin were excluded from the International Boxing Association's 2023 world championships after the IBA said they had failed eligibility tests.
However, the IOC allowed them both to compete at the Paris Games, saying they had been victims of "a sudden and arbitrary decision by the IBA".
Both boxers went on to win gold medals.
Lin has since been cleared to compete in the female category at events run by World Boxing, the body that will oversee the sport at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
Gender testing was first introduced at the 1968 Olympics and last used at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta but then scrapped after criticism from the scientific community.
O.Farraj--SF-PST
