Olympic committee moves to require genetic testing for all female competitors ahead of Los Angeles Games

March 26, 2026

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced it will require a ‘one-time’ genetic screening for all female athletes wishing to compete in the Olympic Games, beginning with the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.

The IOC has adopted a policy similar to that imposed by the UCI, which limits eligibility to compete in any female category event to biological females, but goes a step further to impose a requirement for athletes to prove their sex through genetic testing.

The specific test detects the presence of the SRY gene, a Y-chromosome marker involved in male sex differentiation during embryonic development. Any athlete with an SRY-positive screen is no longer eligible for competition in the female category. CYCLING NEWS