Olympics Overhauls Rules for Trans Athletes, Scraps Testosterone Criteria
The committee says “medically unnecessary” treatments should no longer be required for eligibility.
The International Olympic Committee has rolled out new guidance for transgender and intersex athletes, stepping away from focusing on testosterone levels to determine eligibility ahead of the 2022 winter games.
The latest framework, which guides how individual sports bodies determine eligibility criteria, states that athletes shouldn’t be pressured to undergo medically unnecessary procedures or treatment, like hormone blocking, or forced to undergo invasive physical exams to determine their gender. The document also states that no athlete should be banned exclusively due to an “unverified, alleged or perceived unfair competitive advantage” due to their physical appearance or gender identity.