{"id":67415,"date":"2026-03-27T16:09:59","date_gmt":"2026-03-27T16:09:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/ioc-announces-new-rules-on-womens-olympic-category"},"modified":"2026-03-27T17:11:55","modified_gmt":"2026-03-27T17:11:55","slug":"ioc-announces-new-rules-on-womens-olympic-category","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/ioc-announces-new-rules-on-womens-olympic-category","title":{"rendered":"IOC Announces New Rules on Women\u2019S Olympic Category"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span class=\"ap-article-header-tag\"> <strong>Africa-Press &#8211; Lesotho. <\/strong> <\/span>The International Olympic Committee has announced a new policy barring transgender athletes from competing in the female category over fairness and safety concerns in elite sport.<\/p>\n<p>IOC President Kirsty Coventry said the decision follows extensive scientific and medical consultation. According to her, there is a need to protect the integrity of women\u2019s competition at the highest level.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cToday, we at the International Olympic Committee have published a policy on the protection of the female category. I understand that this is a very sensitive topic. As a former athlete, I passionately believe in the rights of all Olympians to take part in fair competition,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>Coventry stated that the policy is grounded in scientific evidence indicating that male chromosomes confer performance advantages in sports requiring strength, power, and endurance.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe scientific evidence is very clear: male chromosomes give performance advantages in sports that rely on strength, power, or endurance,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>She noted that at the Olympic level, marginal differences can determine outcomes, making fairness a central concern.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAt the Olympic Games, even the smallest margins can be the difference between victory and defeat. It is therefore clear that it would not be fair for biological males to compete in the female category. In addition, in some sports, it would simply not be safe,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n<p>At the same time, the IOC emphasised that all athletes must be treated with dignity and respect, with provisions for education, counselling, and medical guidance as part of the implementation process.<\/p>\n<p>She added that athletes will only be required to undergo screening once in their lifetime.<\/p>\n<p>While reaffirming the importance of inclusion at grassroots and recreational levels, Coventry stressed that elite competition requires stricter safeguards.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Olympic Games focus on elite sport, and at this level we must ensure the fairness, safety, and integrity of all competitions,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>The IOC acknowledged that the policy is likely to raise questions and debate, noting that it will continue engaging stakeholders in the coming months as part of a broader implementation process.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe publication of this policy is just one step in the process, and there will be more information to come,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ap-article-footer-note\">Find more news and analyses on <span class=\"ap-highlight-country\">Lesotho<\/span> on the <span class=\"ap-highlight-brand\">Africa Press<\/span> website<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Africa-Press &#8211; Lesotho. The International Olympic Committee has announced a new policy barring transgender athletes from competing in the female category over fairness and safety concerns in elite sport. IOC President Kirsty Coventry said the decision follows extensive scientific and medical consultation. According to her, there is a need to protect the integrity of women\u2019s [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":67414,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,17],"tags":[245],"class_list":["post-67415","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-sport","tag-lesotho"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.1 (Yoast SEO v27.0) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>IOC Announces New Rules on Women\u2019S Olympic Category - Lesotho<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"-article-header-tag&quot;&gt; Africa-Press - Lesotho. 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