International Olympics Committee opens door for more trans athlete participation

By John Mack Freeman

The International Olympics Committee (IOC) announced last week that they were putting in place new guidelines for trans athletes. The new guidelines will allow athletes to compete in competitions that match their gender identity without gender confirmation surgery. Trans women will also have to prove that their testosterone levels have been below 10 nanomols per liter for the previous 12 months leading up to a competition.

Previously, the IOC required trans participants to have undergone gender reassignment surgery and two years of hormone therapy.

The IOC is further recommending these guidelines to other international sporting bodies for use. Via Out.com:

The guidelines were a result of a “Consensus Meeting on Sex Reassignment and Hyperandrogenism” meeting in November 2015 in Lausanne, Switzerland; the meeting was not announced. Though the guidelines have not yet been widely distributed by IOC, OutSports.com received the new guidelines from “a trusted source.”

The question of gender verification became a global issue in 2009 when South African runner Caster Semenya was forced to submit to sex tests after winning the 800m world title; she was approved to compete and went on to win silver at the London Olympics in 2012.

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