IOC mandates gene screening to protect women’s sports
The International Olympic Committee announces a new policy for women’s sports, mandating gene screening to ensure only biological females compete, citing fairness and safety. Former Olympian Kirsty Coventry and others advocate for the policy, with Caitlyn Jenner noting a “domino effect” on other sports organizations. The move comes as US gas prices rise, affecting Americans’ personal financial situations, with a poll showing 46% are falling behind financially.
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Former U.S. women’s soccer star Megan Rapinoe ripped the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for implementing a new policy to ensure fairness across women’s competitions.
The IOC 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, determined on the basis of a one‑time SRY gene screening.”
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Groups of protesters stand in front of the Supreme Court of the United States as the Justices hear the landmark case to decide if transgender girls should be allowed to participate in girls’ and women’s sports on Tuesday, January 13, 2026.
Credit: Andrew Thomas / CNP (Andrew Thomas/CNP for Digital)
The organization added that the policy was “evidence-based” and “expert-informed.” The testing can be conducted via saliva, cheek swab or blood sample.
A presentation at a World Athletics panel in Tokyo in September revealed that 50 to 60 athletes with male biological advantages have been finalists in the female category at global and continental championships since 2000.
The panel was led by the head of the World Athletics Health and Science Department, Dr. Stéphane Bermon, who said sex tests were necessary because of an “over-representation” of DSD (differences of sex development) athletes among finalists, per multiple reports.
However, Rapinoe rejected the policy in the latest issue of her “A Touch More” podcast.
“Unfortunately, we have to say that all in the same breath as a really horrible rule came out from the International Olympic Committee,” Rapinoe said as she praised the transgender community. “They announced a new policy that they’re calling, I can’t even believe that they’re calling it this because it has nothing to do with protecting women, I feel like two people, who played at the very highest level for every competition that you possibly could, don’t agree with this and never felt like this was an issue at all, ‘The Protection of the Female [Women’s] Category.’”
Rapinoe dismissed the notion that the policy was rooted in science and said that the IOC was subjecting women to “invasive testing.”
A protester for protecting women’s sports gathers outside the Supreme Court on January 13, 2026 in Washington, D.C. Groups from both sides of the debate gathered on Tuesday morning to protest while two cases that prohibit transgender girls from joining girls’ and women’s sports teams are heard inside the Supreme Court. (Heather Diehl/Getty Images)
OLYMPIANS REACT TO THE IOC POLICY CHANGE TO PROTECT WOMEN’S SPORTS
“We already know that biology, as much as we want it to be just nice and clean and tight and perfectly in one category and another, it’s not,” Rapinoe said. “We know that. So, now what we’re doing is subjecting everybody, all women and all people who are identifying as women to this really invasive testing that only to me says like, ‘Oh we’re just trying to whittle it down to a certain type of woman. Is that what we’re doing? That’s really the whole game here.
“They sort of lost the battle on gay marriage and lost the battle on all these things so it’s just like, ‘We’re gonna have this whole campaign for all these years to just hate trans people,’ which is such a small percentage of the population. It’s actually on a single hand when we’re talking about sports. And just like thread the absolute tightest needle thread that you possibly could.”
Rapinoe added that the IOC only implemented the rule to appease President Donald Trump’s administration.
“This committee is framing it as based in science, which it’s not,” she said. “This will ultimately just prevent people from competing within the women’s category that they feel like they have an unfair advantage. It’s just really hateful. There’s been so few athletes that are trans or competing as trans and it’s so blatant on its face. It’s a total acquiescence to the Trump administration and to really right-wing conservative politics that really is just bringing down so much hate against such a small percentage of people who are just trying to live their life. It’s just horrible and I’m just sickened by it, really.”
File – Megan Rapinoe #15 of Team United States lines up prior to the Women’s Football Group G match between United States and Australia during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Kashima Stadium on July 27, 2021 in Kashima, Japan. (Hector Vivas/FIFA)
Conversely, several Olympians supported the IOC’s decision.
Kaillie Humphries, a three-time Olympic gold medalist for the U.S. and Canada, was among them.
“Today is a great day for women’s sports and a big win in the Olympic world,” she told Digital last month. “By implementing the sex testing, it will allow for fair competition. It used to happen years ago, and by bringing it back it will protect the women’s category. I think it’s very fitting that LA28 will be the games to protect women’s sports as it’s something that our president has advocated for.”
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’ Jackson Thompson contributed to this report.
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