New Olympic President Signals Shift on Trans Athletes in Women’s Sports

The new president of the International Olympic Committee says there is strong agreement among members to protect women’s sports. But vague language and a refusal to correct past injustices raise new concerns.

Key Facts:

IOC President Kirsty Coventry says there is “overwhelming” and “unanimous” support to protect the female sports category.
She emphasized a “scientific approach” and the involvement of individual sports federations in shaping policy.
The IOC may adopt a rule similar to World Athletics, which bars trans-identifying males who went through puberty from competing with women.
Coventry said the IOC will not reverse past competition results involving trans athletes.
A 2023 UN study revealed that female athletes have lost nearly 900 medals due to trans-identifying males competing in women’s events.

The Rest of The Story:

Kirsty Coventry held her first press conference as the new head of the International Olympic Committee and made a point to address the issue of transgender-identifying males in women’s sports.

She said there is “very clear” and “unanimous” support from IOC members for protecting the female category to “ensure fairness.”

However, her language reflected a complicated balancing act.

Coventry stressed a “scientific approach” and acknowledged that policies might vary by sport.

The IOC will likely not revisit or overturn past decisions where trans-identifying males competed against women, including at the 2024 Paris Olympics, where two boxers who failed gender-eligibility tests still won gold.

Coventry said, “We’re not going to be doing anything retrospectively.

We’re going to be looking forward,” adding that the IOC would use lessons from the past to guide future policy.

New Olympics chief calls for ‘protecting’ women’s category amid global trans athlete wave https://t.co/5VR76jRFO9 pic.twitter.com/f0DSMGJIR2

— New York Post (@nypost) June 27, 2025

Commentary:

At first glance, Coventry’s remarks seem like a long-overdue correction in favor of fairness for female athletes.

Protecting the female category “first and foremost” is the right message—but much of what she said was riddled with ambiguity.

Words like “scientific approach,” “facts and nuances,” and “inclusion” signal that the IOC is still trying to appease every side of the debate rather than taking a firm stance.

One has to ask: What “nuances” are there to the basic biological differences between men and women in sport?

The reality is simple—biological males, even after hormone therapy, retain physical advantages over women in most sports.

This creates an inherently unfair and often unsafe playing field.

Yet, instead of drawing a clear line, the IOC continues to lean on vague language and soft policies.

Even more frustrating is Coventry’s outright dismissal of doing anything to correct past wrongs.

Hundreds of women lost out on medals and opportunities—some likely lost scholarships, sponsorships, and careers.

By refusing to make past decisions right, the IOC essentially tells these women that fairness only matters going forward.

This is especially galling in light of the 2023 UN report, which found that more than 600 female athletes missed out on medals in over 400 events due to competing against biological males.

That’s not a nuance—that’s an injustice.

What Coventry didn’t say may matter more than what she did.

No timeline was given, no firm commitment to new rules, and no standard was clearly set.

Instead, she placed the burden on international federations, further delaying any real change.

This isn’t leadership.

If the IOC truly believes in fairness, it must act decisively, not cautiously.

Any new policy must be grounded in biology, not ideology.

And while the past can’t be undone, it certainly shouldn’t be ignored.