The decision follows President Donald Trump’s executive order from February on “keeping men out of women’s sports”
The US Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) has barred transgender women from competing in Olympic women’s sports on Monday, complying with an earlier order by President Donald Trump.
The document does not mention the word “transgender” but refers to Trump’s order titled ‘Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports’ from February 5 that bans transgender females from women’s sports teams and threatens a loss of funding for educational institutions that violate the policy.
“The USOPC will […] ensure that women have a fair and safe competition environment consistent with Executive Order 14201,” according to the Athlete Safety Policy published on Monday on the USOPC website.
With his return to office in January, Trump has dismantled transgender rights protections enacted by former President Joe Biden’s administration, ended federal support for “chemical and surgical mutilation” of those under the age of 19, issued a decree recognizing only male and female genders, and banned transgender individuals from serving in the military.
A notification letter sent by USOPC CEO Sarah Hirshland and President Gene Sykes to the body’s stakeholders stated that “as a federally chartered organization, the USOPC is obligated to comply with federal requirements.” It directed the national governing bodies for all sports to update their policies accordingly.
A number of institutions have already begun implementing the new rules. The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) was one of the first to adopt Trump’s order in February.
The participation of transgender athletes in international competitions has been a source of widespread controversy. Two boxers in the female division, Algeria’s Imane Khelif and Chinese Taipei’s Lin Yu-ting, won gold medals at the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics after being disqualified from the 2023 World Championship for testing for the male set of chromosomes. Trump later called them men who “transitioned.”
In 2022, transgender swimmer Lia Thomas, initially a member of the University of Pennsylvania men’s team, won the NCAA 500-yard women’s freestyle.
The following year, the World Athletics Council banned transgender women who had gone through puberty as a male from female competitions.
