South African sprinter Caster Semenya, a two — time Olympic 800-metres champion, has labeled the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) decision to reinstate gender verification tests for the 2028 Los Angeles Games as “a disrespect for women.”Speaking in Cape Town, Semenya expressed her disappointment that the measure was introduced under new IOC President Kirsty Coventry of Zimbabwe. The IOC announced on Thursday that only “biological females “will be allowed to compete in women’s events, thus preventing transgender women from participating.
The IOC had previously utilized chromosomal sex testing from 1968 to the 1996 Atlanta Olympics before discontinuing it in 1999 under pressure from the scientific community and its own athletes commission, which questioned its effectiveness. Semenya, who has been a symbol of the struggle of hyperandrogenic athletes, has been fighting for her rights since winning her first world title in the 800m in 2009. In 2025, she secured a partial victory at the European Court of Human Rights in her seven-year legal battle against track and field’s sex eligibility rules.
The IOC’s new policy reverses a rule it introduced in 2021, allowing individual federations to determine their own policy. The IOC stated that eligibility for any female category event at the Olympic Games or any other IOC event, including individual and team sports, is now limited to biological females, determined by a one-time SRY gene screening. This screening will be carried out through a saliva sample, cheek swab, or blood sample, and will be done once in an athlete’s lifetime.
Coventry defended the new policy, stating that it is based on science and has been led by medical experts. She emphasized the importance of fairness and safety in sports, especially where margins of victory are narrow. The US President Donald Trump credited the IOC’s new policy to his executive order banning transgender athletes from women’s sports, which he claimed was responsible for the IOC’s decision.
The IOC’s new policy on gender verification tests for the 2028 Games has sparked controversy, with athletes like Caster Semenya voicing their concerns. As the world awaits the next Olympics, the debate on gender eligibility in sports continues to gain prominence.
Source: Impulsradio & Television Africa
