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| The Olympic rings outside of the World Trade Center Transportation Hub in New York City in 2024. |
President Donald Trump is now turning his attention to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in his ongoing fight against transgender athletes' participation in women’s sports.
At a signing ceremony on Wednesday for an executive order aimed at barring transgender athletes from competing in women’s sports, Trump stated that his administration intends to pressure the IOC to “change everything” related to the Olympics and this “absolutely ridiculous subject” ahead of the 2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles.
The executive order tasks the Secretary of State’s office with urging the IOC to revise Olympic standards to “promote fairness, safety, and the best interests of female athletes,” ensuring that eligibility for women’s sports is based on biological sex, rather than gender identity or testosterone levels.
Additionally, the order directs the Secretary of State and the Department of Homeland Security to “review and adjust, as needed, policies permitting admission to the United States for males seeking to participate in women’s sports.” To date, there has been no indication that male athletes have competed in women’s Olympic events.
Former IOC President Thomas Bach expressed in December that the organization was “very confident” it could collaborate with the Trump administration. Trump had previously supported Los Angeles’s bid for the 2024 Games, which ultimately went to Paris.
The LA28 organizing committee did not respond to requests for comment on the issue.
In a meeting last month with Trump, LA28 chair Casey Wasserman reportedly indicated that both parties were eager to ensure a successful Games.
The IOC has typically refrained from taking a stance on transgender athlete participation, leaving it to individual sports governing bodies to establish their own rules. These policies vary widely—organizations like World Aquatics enforce strict guidelines, while others like World Triathlon are more lenient. However, the IOC’s position may shift with Bach’s impending retirement, and potential new leadership could affect its approach to this issue. Among the contenders for Bach’s successor is Sebastian Coe, former Olympic track star and current head of World Athletics, who has advocated for limiting female sports to cisgender women.
Two years ago, Coe’s organization banned transgender athletes from competing in international track and field events and implemented new regulations that require some athletes to undergo hormone-suppressing treatment for six months before they are eligible to compete.
The debate over transgender athletes intensified during the Paris Olympics last summer, with Trump eagerly engaging in the conversation. On the campaign trail, Trump misgendered two Olympic female boxers—Imane Khelif of Algeria and Li Yu-ting of Taiwan—claiming their participation was “demeaning to women,” despite both athletes being assigned female at birth and identifying as women.
Trump referenced the two athletes again on Wednesday, saying, “They had two women or two people that transitioned and both of them won gold medals and they won them very convincingly. But all of that ends today because with this executive order, the war on women’s sports is over.”
The critical question now is how much influence the United States will have in shaping IOC policy. With the contentious nature of this issue, Trump’s executive order could spark international federations to push the IOC toward establishing a uniform standard on transgender athlete participation.
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