Transgender women athletes will be excluded from the Olympics beginning with the 2028 Los Angeles Games after the International Olympic Committee implemented a new eligibility policy on Thursday.
Eligibility for women’s competition will be determined by a one-time, mandatory genetics test, according to the IOC. The test requires screening through saliva, a cheek swab or a blood sample.
No woman who transitioned from being born male competed at the 2024 Paris Summer Games, and it is unclear if any transgender women currently compete at an Olympic level. The new policy, however, aligns with President Trump’s executive order banning transgender athletes from participating in women’s or girls’ sporting events in the United States.
The eligibility policy approved by the IOC is not retroactive and does not apply to recreational sports programs.
The IOC said in a statement that it “protects fairness, safety and integrity in the female category.
“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.”
Until now, individual sports federations determined whether transgender women were allowed to compete in women’s categories, with the IOC providing only recommendations. Sports that placed restrictions on transgender athletes included track and field, boxing, swimming and rugby.
The IOC Executive Board approved the new policy after 18 months of study. It mirrors the guidelines approved by the World Athletics Council in June, determining eligibility for the female category through screening for the absence or presence of the SRY gene.
The IOC policy leans on scientific research that considers the presence of the SRY gene fixed for life and represents evidence that an athlete has experienced male sex development. Athletes who screen negative for the SRY gene will be eligible to compete in women’s sports.
SRY (which stands for sex-determining region Y gene) is found on the Y chromosome. In the cell, it binds to other DNA, leading to testis formation, according to the National Library of Medicine. Even men who lack Y chromosomes still have a copy of the SRY region on one of their X chromosomes, which accounts for their maleness.
Jane Thornton, the IOC medical and scientific director, last year presented to the executive board findings that transgender athletes born with male sexual markers retained physical advantages, even those that had received treatment to reduce testosterone.
Kirsty Coventry, a former gold-medal Olympics swimmer from Zimbabwe, was elected a year ago as the first woman president of the IOC. She campaigned on the importance of protecting the women’s category.
“At the Olympic Games, even the smallest margins can be the difference between victory and defeat,” Coventry said Thursday in a statement. “So, it is absolutely clear that it would not be fair for biological males to compete in the female category.”
The puck that Hughes smacked into the net in overtime to give the United States its first men’s Olympic hockey gold since the 1980 “Miracle on Ice” was seemingly forgotten amid the raucous celebration.
But this week, the Hockey Hall of Fame began displaying that puck along with the one Megan Keller knocked into the net in overtime to give the U.S. women’s team gold in Milan. The International Ice Hockey Federation apparently secured the frozen vulcanized rubber disks immediately after the games and handed them to the Hall of Fame located in Toronto.
Hughes is happy “his” puck surfaced but believes he is the rightful owner of a piece of memorabilia that David Kohler, president of SCP Auctions, estimated might be worth $1 million.
“I don’t see why Megan Keller or I shouldn’t have those pucks,” Hughes told ESPN. “I’m trying to get it. Like, that’s [B.S.] that the Hockey Hall of Fame has it, in my opinion. Why would they have that puck?”
Hughes might not like the answer. The provenance of the puck is similar to that of a basketball or football used in a notable moment. It is dissimilar to a historic home run because a baseball leaves the field of play, and the owner becomes the fortunate fan.
“Because of the increasing value of memorabilia, ownership of items has become standardized over the last decade or so,” said an expert who agreed to speak anonymously because they work in the acquisition of such items. “Whoever purchased the puck owns it. Jerseys belong to the team, shoes and gloves to the player, the puck to whoever supplied it to the Olympics.”
That would be the International Ice Hockey Federation, the governing body of the Olympics hockey tournament. The IIHF employees who immediately secured those precious pucks amid gold-medal bedlam apparently did their job well.
“The puck was designated for archival preservation with the Hockey Hall of Fame to ensure its long-term safekeeping and historical recognition,” an IIHF spokesperson said.
The pucks are featured in an “Olympics ‘26” display that also contains a hockey stick used by Brady Tkachuk of the U.S. team and a U.S. jersey worn by four-time Olympian Hilary Knight.
It might strike some as odd that the display is in Canada, where fans are mourning the loss to the United States, but that’s been the location of the Hall of Fame since it was established in 1943. HOF president Jamie Dinsmore said in a statement that the display contains “donated items,” although it is unclear whether the IIHF has donated or merely loaned the pucks to the HOF.
“The Olympics ’26 display will help ensure that these unforgettable Olympic moments are preserved for our guests from around the world to experience,” Dinsmore said.
Meanwhile, Hughes told ESPN he wants the puck to become the property of one particular fan — his father, who collects memorabilia for him and his brothers Quinn and Luke. All three play in the NHL.
“I wouldn’t even want it for myself. I’d want it for my dad. I know he’d just love, love having it,” Hughes said. “When I look back in my career, I don’t collect too many things for myself, but my dad’s a monster collector for the three of us. I know he would have a special place for it.”
Or it could be sold at auction, where certainly it would pay for any dental work Hughes needs after getting teeth knocked out during the gold-medal game. Various auction houses have estimated the value of the puck to be from $40,000 to $1 million.
Should he acquire the puck, though, Hughes might not even consider selling it. The first pick of the 2019 NHL draft, he signed an eight-year, $64 million contract extension with the New Jersey Devils four years ago.
Ohtani began the World Baseball Classic in Tokyo for Team Japan with a double on the first pitch he saw and then, one inning later, a grand slam … of course he did.
It continued with an espresso shot …
The hitters of lovable Team Italy celebrated home runs with shots of Italian espresso in a dugout dripping with cheek kisses and caffeine.
After hitting three homers against Mexico, Italy’s Vinnie Pasquantino told Fox that he was, “beaned up.”
Truly, this blip of a tournament has been beaned up, a glorious 10 days of deafening cheers and eye-blacked tears, fans dressed like discount popes and bald eagles, TV ratings through the roof, baseball at its October best … in the middle of spring training?
Italy’s Jac Caglianone takes a shot of espresso as he celebrates with teammate Vinnie Pasquantino after hitting a solo home run against the U.S. during the World Baseball Classic on Tuesday in Houston.
(Kenneth Richmond / Getty Images)
What a thing! What a treat!
All hail the WBC, 20 years old and all grown up, its sixth incarnation stealing the stage in a sweet spot during NBA doldrums and before March Madness.
Have you watched any of it? Have you been energized by all of it? It’s been like two weeks of All-Star games, only the players are serious. It’s been like when baseball was part of the Olympics, only the players are all truly the best in the world.
In the middle of the most boring part of the Cactus and Grapefruit Leagues, it’s like a Superhero League. Two weeks before opening day, it’s like the final week of a pennant race.
It’s competitive, and it’s crazy, and Friday’s quarterfinals were filled with both.
There was giant Vladimir Guerrero Jr. going airborne to score a run for the Dominican Republic against Korea, and then leaping up and pumping his fist as if he had just won the World Series.
There was Juan Soto flying home to score an inning later, his head-first dive celebrated by Soto doing a swim move in the dugout.
Then there was Team USA’s David Bednar, screaming along with the chanting crowd as he worked out of a seventh-inning jam in a win over Canada.
In a tournament filled with equal parts emotion and edginess, Team USA now plays the Dominican Republic Sunday in Miami in a semifinal that could be the most-watched game of this season before the season starts.
Paul Skenes versus a lineup so deep Julio Rodriguez bats seventh? A team led by Aaron Judge and Bryce Harper versus a team featuring Manny Machado and Fernando Tatis Jr?
Dominican Republic’s Vladimir Guerrero Jr. dives past South Korea catcher Park Dong-won to score on a double by Junior Caminero during the World Baseball Classic on Friday in Miami.
(Lynne Sladky / Associated Press)
“I expect it to be one of the best games of all time,” said Team USA Manager Mark DeRosa.
No, the WBC isn’t as big as the World Series. One notable player said it’s even bigger.
“The Classic kind of feels above the World Series,” Kiké Hernández told reporters earlier this spring. “Maybe it’s because of what we have on the chest,”
Hernández, who didn’t play for his home country Puerto Rico because he is recovering from elbow surgery, nonetheless showed up in San Juan for the pool-play games.
He was so excited when Puerto Rico beat Panama on a walk-off home run, he texted Dodgers baseball president Andrew Friedman and asked if he could accompany the team to Houston for the knockout round. Friedman of course said yes.
Yes, yes, yes, more, more, more.
Before this spring, I had watched exactly one WBC at-bat. The entire deal felt cheesy and contrived. American players didn’t appear to care. American players would rather lounge through the final days of spring training in occasional games and on countless golf courses
Other countries loved it. Other countries caused a ruckus. The fan experience was highlighted by a memorable and deafening 2009 final at Dodger Stadium featured a Japan victory over South Korea in a game that many observers said was the loudest they ever attended.
Not me. Didn’t care. I pretty much ignored the whole thing until stumbling upon that one at-bat, the final out in the 2023 title game, that stunning dramatic strikeout of Mike Trout by then-Angel teammate Ohtani to give Japan the title.
Ohtani threw his cap and glove in a rare show of emotion, setting off a wild and sincere celebration as my ignorant self finally realized, “Hey, this is a thing.”
Three years later, the American players have agreed, stacking the roster with stars like Judge and Harper, kids like Pete Crow-Armstrong, vets like Kyle Schwarber and Big Dumpers named Cal Raleigh, all transforming this occasional baseball oddity into must-see TV.
You know how one can tell it’s real American baseball? The team spent its first week mired in social media drama and a second-guessing controversy.
American right fielder Aaron Judge celebrates his team’s win over Canada during a World Baseball Classic quarterfinal game on Friday in Houston.
(David J. Phillip / Associated Press)
Tarik Skubal, the game’s best pitcher, found himself defending his patriotism after leaving the tournament early to better prepare for his opening day start with the Detroit Tigers.
First, he admitted he was surprised at how bad he felt about abandoning Team USA. That seemed to be a theme in a clubhouse that has been stunned at how much this matters.
“I totally misread how I would feel,” he said.
Then, he seemed genuinely hurt that people think he is turning his back on the flag.
“It’s just not fair,” he told the Athletic, later adding, “If they know me, though, and they know me on a personal level and they know what my peers think of me, I don’t think it’s fair to say those things.”
Also finding himself in hot water was USA manager Mark DeRosa, who nearly allowed his team to be eliminated in pool play because he didn’t know the rules.
When Team USA played Italy on Tuesday night, DeRosa rested most of his starters, nearly used retired Clayton Kershaw and basically managed the game as if he thought they didn’t need to win to guarantee advancement to the next round.
Guess what? They needed to win. But they didn’t win, losing 8-6 in a shocking upset. So they were forced to sweat out the Italy-Mexico game on Wednesday, where another Italian upset allowed them to back into the quarterfinals.
DeRosa claimed he knew the rules all along, which he clearly did not.
Before the game against Italy, in an interview on the MLB Network, he said, “Our ticket’s punched to the quarterfinals.”
After the game, DeRosa claimed he just, “misspoke”
And then Thursday he told the media, “I was well aware that we had to win the game.”
The 16-year journeyman clearly messed up, and then tried to cover up, and here’s guessing even if Team USA wins this tournament, he won’t be managing them in the 2028 Olympics or in any future WBC events.
Meanwhile, one American player had a dissenting view about the status of this tournament, Harper offering a tired argument.
“Obviously, the WBC has been great, but it’s not the Olympics, right?” he told reporters. “That’s no disrespect to the WBC or anything, but everybody knows that when the Olympics are on, everybody’s watching. It doesn’t matter what sport it is; it could be the most random sport, and it’s got all the fans watching it.”
Wrong. Here’s guessing more fans will be watching Sunday night in a matchup for the ages. Then, imagine if Team USA wins and plays Japan on Tuesday night for the championship?
With the sport headed toward a seemingly inevitable work stoppage this winter, this could be the sweet beginnings of a long farewell. Soak it in. Enjoy the buzz. Get all beaned up. March madness indeed.
The men’s team was criticised after several players appeared to laugh when Trump made his comment, but Knight said: “I think there’s a genuine level of support there and respect. That’s being overshadowed by a quick lapse.
“The guys were in a tough spot, so I think it’s a shame this storyline and narrative has kind of blown up and [is] overshadowing that connection and genuine interest in one another and cheering each other on.”
US men’s player Charlie McAvoy subsequently apologised for his team’s response, saying it was “not reflective” of how his side view the women’s squad.
“Certainly sorry for how we responded to it in that moment,” the Boston Bruins player told reporters before an NHL game on Thursday. “Things just happened really quick there.
“If you know the men’s team, and if you know the relationships that we have, the amount of time that we’ve spent with the women’s team and how we’ve supported them, it’s certainly not reflective of how we feel and look at them and their accomplishments.”
Knight, 36, ended her Olympic career with 15 goals, the most by any US male or female player.
She said she hopes the Trump controversy proves to be a “really good learning point, to really focus on how we talk about women, not only in sport but in industry”.
She said: “Women aren’t less than, and their achievements shouldn’t be overshadowed by anything else other than how great they are.”
