The United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee announced a change to its Athlete Safety Policy on Monday, formally barring transgenders (men who live as women) from competing in women’s categories at both Olympic and Paralympic events. The policy shift brings the USOPC into compliance with President Donald Trump’s Executive Order 14201, titled “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports,” signed Feb. 5.
The revised guidelines state that eligibility for women’s sports will now be determined strictly by biological sex, although the guidelines refer to this as “sex assigned at birth.” As a result, transgenders who are biological males will be directed to compete in men’s or open categories, effectively ending access to women’s divisions for any athlete not born female.
The USOPC policy does not explicitly reference transgender athletes. Instead, it adopts the terminology and framework set out in the presidential executive order, which focuses on safeguarding what it describes as the integrity of women’s sports.
This update reverses USOPC policy, which at last as in April 2025 had deferred decisions on gender eligibility to individual international federations and national governing bodies. Under the new directive, all NGBs are now required to adopt uniform policies based on biological sex. The change applies across all levels of competition, from grassroots programs to elite international events, and will directly increase the chances for women athletes competing for the 2028 Los Angeles Games.
With this latest action, the United States becomes one of the first major Olympic nations to codify such restrictions across all sporting disciplines in response to national policy.
Let’s celebrate this!!