Caster Semenya plans class action suit over IOC trans ban

IOC Bans Transgender Women From Olympics With New Gene-Screening Policy

The International Olympic Committee announced last Thursday that transgender women and most intersex athletes will be barred from competing in women’s events at the Olympics, introducing mandatory genetic screening that marks the most sweeping eligibility change in decades. The policy, effective from the 2028 Los Angeles Games onward, limits participation in all female category events to “biological females,” determined by a one-time SRY gene test.espn

A Reversal Years in the Making

The IOC had long declined to set a universal rule on transgender participation, instead leaving eligibility decisions to individual sports federations. Under the new framework, athletes must undergo screening for the SRY gene, a DNA segment found on the Y chromosome that triggers male sex development. Testing can be done via saliva, cheek swab, or blood sample, and a negative result permanently satisfies the eligibility requirement. Athletes who test positive are disqualified from women’s events, with narrow exceptions for those diagnosed with complete androgen insensitivity syndrome.olympics

IOC President Kirsty Coventry, the first woman to lead the organization, said the policy was “led by medical experts” and described it as protecting “fairness, safety and integrity in the female category”. The 10-page policy document also restricts female athletes with differences in sex development, such as two-time Olympic 800-meter champion Caster Semenya. The IOC noted the policy “is not retroactive and does not apply to any grassroots or recreational sports programs”.espn

Backlash and Support

The decision has drawn sharp criticism. France’s sports minister Marina Ferrari called it a “step backwards,” saying her government was “greatly concerned” about the broad application of genetic testing, which she said raises “ethical, legal, and medical issues”. A coalition of more than 100 human rights organizations warned the testing could inflict “significant harm” on affected athletes and called it an “imprecise measure of both sex and athletic advantage”.aljazeera

Semenya, speaking on Sunday, expressed disappointment with Coventry and announced she is mounting a class action lawsuit against the IOC. Legal experts have pointed to likely challenges at the Court of Arbitration for Sport and potentially the European Court of Human Rights.thecanary

Political Dimensions

Veteran sportscaster Bob Costas voiced support for the ban, saying “common sense is not transphobic” and arguing that allowing biological males to compete in women’s events would undermine fair competition. The policy aligns with a February 2025 executive order from President Donald Trump prohibiting transgender athletes from girls’ and women’s sports, a connection multiple outlets noted ahead of the LA Games being held on American soil. Before the 2024 Paris Olympics, track and field, swimming, and cycling had already adopted similar restrictions, but the IOC’s decision now extends them across all Olympic disciplines.cnn