By Sean Griffin on SwimSwam
On Monday, July 21st, the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee publicized a new policy regarding transgender athlete participation, stating that transgender athletes will not be permitted to compete in women’s events for Team USA at Olympic and Paralympic competitions.
“As a federally chartered organization, we have an obligation to comply with federal expectations,” USOPC CEO Sarah Hirshland and president Gene Sykes wrote in a company letter. “Our revised policy emphasizes the importance of ensuring fair and safe competition environments for women. All National Governing Bodies are required to update their applicable policies in alignment.”
The policy has drawn immediate criticism from advocacy groups. “By giving in to political demands, the USOPC is sacrificing the rights and dignity of transgender athletes,” said National Women’s Law Center President and CEO Fatima Goss Graves in a statement criticizing the move.
The new rules do not specify implementation details or clarify whether similar restrictions apply to men’s sports categories.
The policy update comes on the heels of U.S. President Donald Trump‘s “Keeping Men Out Of Women’s Sports” executive order, which he signed on February 5.
The executive order states that participation in women’s sports should be limited to individuals assigned female at birth. It calls for federal agencies to define sex based on biological sex at birth for the purposes of athletic competition. It also threatens to revoke federal funding from any elementary, secondary, and postsecondary institution that allows transgender girls to play on girls’ teams, claiming they are in violation of Title IX.
The USOPC’s decision reflects a broader national debate over transgender participation in sports that has intensified across state and federal levels. Republican lawmakers have framed the issue as ensuring competitive fairness, leading more than 25 states to pass legislation restricting transgender women and girls from certain athletic competitions. Legal challenges have emerged against several of these measures, with opponents suggesting that they target a small population of athletes.
The policy shift extends beyond Olympic sports. The NCAA also revised its transgender athlete guidelines following the executive order, now requiring that participants be assigned female at birth.
Internationally, the Olympic movement is grappling with similar questions under IOC President Kirsty Coventry, who has emphasized efforts to maintain distinct female competition categories.
Coventry, who replaced Thomas Bach in late June, addressed the topic at her first press conference: “We understand that there will be differences depending on the sport, but it was very clear from the members that we have to protect the female category, first and foremost to ensure fairness. But we need to do that with a scientific approach and the inclusion of the international federations who have already done a lot of work in this area.”
USA Swimming has acknowledged the USOPC’s policy change and is working with the committee to determine necessary adjustments to its own rules, according to the Associated Press.
USA Fencing has already announced it will revise its eligibility requirements starting August 1, restricting women’s events to female athletes while allowing all other competitors to participate in men’s categories.
Read the full story on SwimSwam: New USOPC Policy Bans Transgender Women From Competing On Team USA Women’s Teams
