The International Olympic Committee President Kirsty Coventry announced at a press conference that the entity will review the eligibility criteria in women's sport, shaken in recent years by controversies over the participation of transgender people or those with differences in sexual development.
From Lausanne, Switzerland, and in front of more than fifty journalists connected via video call from around the world, the 41-year-old former Olympic swimmer from Zimbabwe made her debut this week before the media as leader of the world's top sporting body with a firm yet conciliatory tone. Over twenty minutes, she laid out her immediate and future plans, and then answered questions in a session where the tone was largely amicable, though not without touching on sensitive topics.
Among these, one stood out that has placed the IOC under international scrutiny: the growing controversy over gender eligibility in women's competitions, reignited during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games by the participation of boxers such as Algeria’s Imane and Taiwan’s Lin-Ting. Both competed and won medals despite having previously been excluded by the International Boxing Association for not meeting its gender criteria. The situation caused tension in the tournament and sparked a global debate on fairness, biology, identity and rights in sport.
"There was overwhelming support for the idea that we must protect the female category," Coventry stated this week. "Therefore, we will create a working group composed of experts and international federations." The decision marks a significant shift in IOC policy, as until now the organisation had opted to delegate to each federation the responsibility for setting its own eligibility rules, an approach dating back to the end of 2021. However, as the president herself acknowledged, "the members agreed that the IOC should take a leading role in this. And that we should be the ones to bring together the experts and international federations and ensure consensus."
Coventry stressed that her term would be based on strong collaboration, inspired by the legacy of her predecessor, Thomas Bach.
In her early conversations with IOC members after taking office, she identified a shared concern: protecting the women's category based on scientific evidence and solid medical analysis. To this end, she promised that the IOC working groups will include federations that have already made progress in this area and will be guided by facts, not ideological pressures.
The boxing tournament scandal in Paris was no minor affair. With the IBA suspended by the IOC since 2023 for governance issues, the Committee itself supervised the event. But the controversy surrounding the excluded and later reinstated boxers revealed a lack of common criteria and highlighted the vacuum left by the absence of a unified policy.
"In hindsight, there are many influencing factors... and the members also shared their own cultural experiences from their respective countries," said Coventry, acknowledging that cultural differences have also shaped how the issue has been addressed.
