IOC agrees to review trans athletes' participation in women's competitions

The controversial case of boxer Imane Khelif has fueled the debate about the participation of trans people in women's competitions. The debate isn't new. For years, athletes and feminist organizations have fought to protect women's rights against the new trans trend.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is now willing to review eligibility criteria in women's sports. This is what the newly elected president of the committee, Kirsty Coventry, announced in her first public statement. Coventry has promised to focus her efforts on resolving this highly controversial issue.

"There's overwhelming support for us to protect women's categories," Coventry said, "that's why we're going to review the eligibility criteria." This means reintroducing gender tests in women's competitions.

IOC will create a committee of experts to address a debate in which international federations will also participate. Although the new president has admitted the complexity of the debate, she has also prioritized the "protection" of women's categories.

They demand Khelif's medal be withdrawn

Boxing, track and field, and swimming federations have already shown their willingness to bring back chromosomal tests to ban the participation of biological men in women's competitions. These tests haven't been used since the Atlanta Olympic Games in 1996. This has led to several controversies, such as Imane Khelif and Lin Yua Ting's gold medal wins at the Paris 2024 Games.

Algerian boxer Imane Khelif has once again found herself embroiled in controversy due to her non-registration in the Eindhoven Cup. Since this is an official international competition, it has cast doubt on the medal she won last year in Paris. The International Boxing Federation has requested that her medal be withdrawn, but IOC has so far refused.

In recent months, several female athletes have withdrawn from their categories due to the inclusion of trans people. These individuals have a clear physical advantage over their competitors. This has been very evident in athletes like swimmer Lia Thomas or Khelif herself, who swept their opponents with overwhelming superiority.

A debate that goes further

This debate goes beyond the sports field and is taking place precisely during a review of the trans tenets that have prevailed in recent years. A landmark ruling was that of the United Kingdom's High Court, which banned trans people from quotas reserved for women in the administration.

Both this and the IOC controversy raise questions about the limits of the so-called gender ideology. To what extent can gender self-determination be used to gain an advantage, and how does this harm women's achievements in the fight for real equality?