France said on Friday, March 27, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) decision to introduce gender testing for the female category was a “step backwards.”
“We oppose a generalisation of genetic testing, which raises numerous ethical, legal and medical questions, particularly in light of French legislation” which does not allow such tests, Sports Minister Marina Ferrari said in a statement.
The IOC announced on Thursday that only “biological females” will be allowed to compete in women’s events, preventing transgender women from competing. It is re-introducing gender testing from the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics onwards in a move which will also rule out many athletes with differences in sexual development (DSD), previously known as intersex athletes.
Ferrari said the new IOC policy “defines the female sex without taking into consideration the biological specificities of intersex people whose sexual characteristics present natural variations, which leads to a reductive and potentially stigmatising approach.”
IOC president Kirsty Coventry said on Thursday that athletes from countries where the gender test was banned would have to be tested in other countries. “If it is illegal in a country, athletes will have the possibility when they travel to other competitions to be tested there,” Coventry said. “This is also why we’re saying the policy comes into effect now, but will be implemented in LA 28. So we have time to walk through this process with everyone.” Coventry added: “I do feel that this policy is a policy that is supporting equality and fairness and the protection of the safety on the field of play.”
The IOC said there may be “rare exceptions” for DSD athletes who do not benefit from the performance-enhancing effects of testosterone.
Harry Potter author JK Rowling, who has been one of the fiercest supporters of the argument that only those born female at birth are women, welcomed the IOC’s new policy. But she accompanied her post on X with a picture of Imane Khelif, the Algerian boxer who sparked a furor over her gender eligibility at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Rowling said the “ruling by the IOC means a welcome return to fair sport for women and girls, but I’ll never forget the scandal of Paris 2024, when people who consider themselves supremely virtuous and progressive publicly cheered on men punching women.”
Eligibility for the female category will be decided by genetic testing, which will test athletes to see if they have the SRY gene which determines whether a person is biologically male. The test wil be carried out by a swab of the inside of an athlete’s cheek or blood samples and will only take place once in an athlete’s career.