Opinion

RILEY GAINES: Olympics finally picks biology over ideology to save women’s sports

This policy is only as good as its enforcement, and the IOC has finally paired principle with proof

By Riley Gaines Fox News

Published March 31, 2026 7:00am EDT

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Olympics announces ban on biological men in women's sporting events starting in 2028

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) bans biological men from women's sporting events starting with the 2028 Los Angeles Games.

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The International Olympic Committee finally did what so many of us have been demanding for years: it drew a clear, unambiguous line in the sand to protect women’s sports. Under its first-ever female president, Kirsty Coventry, the IOC announced a new eligibility policy that limits competition in the female category at the Olympics, Youth Olympics and all IOC-sanctioned events to females only. Novel concept, right? In today's world, it is. 

Starting with the 2028 Los Angeles Games, this will be verified through a simple, one-time SRY gene screening — a cheek swab, saliva sample, or blood draw — to confirm the absence of the male sex-determining gene. Chromosomes don’t lie. No more gray areas. No more pretending biology is optional. 

This is a giant leap forward for women’s sports. They’ve done the right thing with a strong, clear policy. No equivocation, no tap-dancing, no pretense of "balancing priorities." And they’ve backed it up with an objective, verifiable means of enforcement. Those responsible this time........

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