International Olympic Committee Will Implement Sex Testing Starting with Los Angeles Games

Just this morning the IOC announced that sex testing will be implemented starting with the summer games in Los Angeles in 2028.

Here are the key facts, per their announcement:

Key facts

• 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 SRY gene indicates that there is a Y chromosome.)

• Evidence‑based and expert‑informed, the policy — applicable for the LA28 Olympic Games onwards — protects fairness, safety and integrity in the female category.

• It is not retroactive and does not apply to any grassroots or recreational sports programmes.

The IOC did the right thing despite pressure from advocacy organizations. They won’t go back and take any medals away from males who won in women’s categories which is a shame. But I’ll take it — this is forward looking and the correct policy.

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There were challenges leading up to the decision by the IOC

A coalition of over 80 “human rights and sports advocacy organizations,” (aren’t women included in human rights?) including the Sport & Rights Alliance (SRA), ILGA World, and Humans of Sport, applied significant pressure on the International Olympic Committee (IOC) not to implement universal genetic sex testing.

This coalition of organizations released a statement on March 17, 2026 urging the IOC to abandon plans to implement sex testing to keep the women’s category female. They argue that these plans would “set women’s sport back 30 years.” Ha. The nerve.

Yes it sets us back to 1999 when sex testing was still implemented in the Olympic movement. So yeah, this sets us back 27 years and I’m entirely ok with that. We were saner then.

They also expressed “human rights concerns.” They say that experts, including those from the United Nations, have warned that mandatory genetic sex testing violates privacy, human dignity, and bodily autonomy.

I’ll say it again for those in the cheap seats: they already implement drug testing. They can do this too. In fact, they don’t need to implement another test — they can just use the blood draw for drug testing. Or do a cheek swab. There is nothing invasive about this. AND, it’s one time. Drug testing is every time. Sex never changes. Do the test once, never need it again. So in the future, an athlete could be tested in their first Olympic movement competition and never be tested again.

They also expressed concerns about discrimination and safety. Critics argue that these measures would disproportionately harm women of color and athletes from the Global South. They also argue that such tests, which often involve checking for the Y chromosome, are inaccurate and harmful to all women.

Always with the racism. No, this protects women, period. It’s discriminatory not to do it. The so called “women of the Global South” they refer to are not women, they are people like Caster Semenya. A man. Women of the Global South who are women will be just fine. And the test is highly accurate — nearly 100% accuracy! — in determining biological sex. If, on the off chance there is a false positive for SRY, they’ll re-test. This isn’t hard.

They also point out that this would contradict previous policies. Advocates point out that the reported proposals directly contradict the IOC’s own 2021 Framework on Fairness, Inclusion and Non-Discrimination, which previously recommended against targeted, mandatory testing.

Right. And it is consistent with their 1999 policy. The 2021 policy was in contradiction to their own previous framework. This is so dumb. You’ve been doing it wrong so you have to keep doing it that way to be consistent? NO.

They end with a call for inclusivity. The coalition argues that sports should be a “place of belonging” rather than a venue for gender policing and exclusion.

Really? No. Sports are about exclusion, not inclusivity. Tell the person who placed 20th in Olympic Trials that sports are about “inclusion.” You have to qualify! If you aren’t good enough you don’t make the team or the Olympics. There is no inclusivity!

There are categories. Every sport in the Olympics has a minimum age. Many sports have weight classes. And yes, there are sex classes, which are meaningless if anyone can declare themselves a woman. Sports are not about about inclusivity. Never have been.

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I’d been following the pushback closely and I was worried that the IOC might cave.

They didn’t. Credit to the President since last year, Kirsty Coventry. Many questions remain like how will the test be implemented. An independent third party should be responsible. How will records to kept? As I said, a one-time test is sufficient.

Further questions include what will the impact be on other sport governing bodies? Will they take a cue from the IOC, the leading body in sport? Will some dig their heels in further to oppose it just to make a point? What about the NCAA which has said that women’s sports are for women in the NCAA but accepts birth certificates (which can be altered) as proof of sex? Will the NCAA change its policy now and test for sex?

Much remains to be known. But for today, a win.