Olympics organisers move towards banning transgender women from women’s sport

BREAKING

Movement towards a potential ban comes after members of the IOC were given a presentation by Olympic medical chief Dr Jane Thornton last week.

It highlighted potential advantages that those who were born male have in women's sport.

World Athletics have previously introduced sex-testing — a means of verifying the "biological sex" of competitors — for global events, and IOC members were given further details on how this would work in practice.

It is possible for the committee to introduce a full-scale ban on transgender women in time for the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, but this issue must be presented to a the full IOC session of members for a decision to be made.

Even though a recent study found that just 0.001% of "recent Olympians" identified as transgender, the issue is expected to be a major topic ahead of the 2028 games.

Support for a ban has gained further traction by comments recently made by US President Donald Trump.

Since taking over at the White House, the 79-year-old has vowed to end the "war on women's sports."

He has also said: "In Los Angeles in 2028, my administration will not stand by and watch men beat and batter female athletes.

"We're not going to let it happen.

"Just to make sure, I'm also directing our secretary of homeland security to deny any and all visa applications made by men attempting to fraudulently enter the US while identifying as women athletes to try and get into the games."

While the Olympic committee have previously left it up to individual sports to decide rules on participation themselves, this could be set to change.

An IOC spokesperson confirmed to Sky News: "An update was given by the IOC medical and scientific director to the IOC members last week at the commission meetings.

"The working group is continuing its discussions on this topic and no decisions have been taken yet.

"Further information will be provided in due course."