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Olympics Overhauls Rules for Trans Athletes, Scraps Testosterone Criteria

The IOC has new rules for transgender and intersex athletes, stepping away from testosterone levels to determine eligibility.

Olympics Overhauls Rules for Trans Athletes, Scraps Testosterone Criteria
Thomas Bach, president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), signs a display. (Photographer: Noriko Hayashi/Bloomberg)

The International Olympic Committee has rolled out new guidance for transgender and intersex athletes, stepping away from focusing on testosterone levels to determine eligibility ahead of the 2022 winter games.

The latest framework, which guides how individual sports bodies determine eligibility criteria, states that athletes shouldn’t be pressured to undergo medically unnecessary procedures or treatment, like hormone blocking, or forced to undergo invasive physical exams to determine their gender. The document also states that no athlete should be banned exclusively due to an “unverified, alleged or perceived unfair competitive advantage” due to their physical appearance or gender identity.

“Every person has the right to practice sport without discrimination and in a way that respect their health, safety and dignity,” the IOC said in the document released this week.

The change comes amid a raft of debate surrounding who can compete in athletics at the student and professional level. This year, at least 31 U.S. states have introduce legislation banning transgender athletes from participating on sports teams that match their gender identity. Earlier this year, runner Caster Semenya was shut out of the Tokyo Games after refusing to undergo medical treatment to lower her natural testosterone levels to meet eligibility requirements laid out by her sport. 

The new framework updates 2015 guidelines that recommended imposing a limit on athlete’s testosterone levels, monitored by testing. Before that, transgender athletes were required to undergo gender affirmation surgery to participate. The latest outline also says that athletes who may be negatively affected should be consulted when updating or reviewing eligibility criteria, in order to avoid harm. 

The IOC document follows a two-year consultation process with more than 250 athlete stakeholders. This summer’s Olympic Games saw the first openly transgender athletes — New Zealand weightlifter Laurel Hubbard and Canadian soccer player Quinn — competing. 

“This new IOC framework is groundbreaking in the way that it reflects what we know to be true — that athletes like me and my peers participate in sports without any inherent advantage, and that our humanity deserves to be respected,” Quinn said in a statement.

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