Caster Semenya slams IOC’s decision to ban transgender athletes from Olympic participation
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Reading Time: 3min | Tue. 07.04.26. | 15:47
The IOC’s decision, outlined in a 10-page policy document, excludes transgender women from women’s Olympic events
Two-time Olympic champion Caster Semenya has lambasted the International Olympic Committee (IOC) following its decision to ban transgender women from competing in women’s events at the Olympic Games.
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Semenya directed part of her frustration at IOC President Kirsty Coventry, expressing disappointment that an African woman in leadership would support such a policy.
She argued that leaders from the Global South should better understand the complexities surrounding genetics and identity.
“Personally, for her as a leader, she's an African. I'm sure she understands how we, as Africans, are coming from the Global South.
You cannot control genetics. For me, for her being a woman coming from Africa, knowing how African women or women in the Global South are affected by that,” Semenya said.
The IOC’s decision, outlined in a 10-page policy document, excludes transgender women from women’s Olympic events and also places restrictions on athletes with differences in sex development (DSD), a category that directly impacts Semenya.
The South African star, who was assigned female at birth but has naturally higher testosterone levels than the typical female range, had been barred from competing in her preferred 800m event since 2019.
This followed regulations requiring athletes with DSD to medically lower their testosterone levels, a directive she has consistently refused.
Semenya questioned the scientific basis of the IOC’s latest policy, calling for greater transparency.
“If the science is clear, show us who decided and don’t dress that as a lie because it’s a lie, and we know because we’ve seen it. If we were to confront Kirsty, that’s how we’re going to respond strongly, because it affects women,” she said.
She also criticised what she described as performative consultation processes, suggesting that athletes’ voices are not genuinely considered in policy-making.
“For me personally, I’ll say the voice is not heard because you’re taking it as a tick box… so you can say yes, we’ve consulted. For me, it’s you ticking the box,” she added.
Semenya has been at the centre of a long-running legal and sporting battle over eligibility rules. Alongside athletes like Dutee Chand, she challenged earlier versions of such regulations in court.
Her case reached the European Court of Human Rights, where she secured a judgment in her favour, although the ruling did not overturn the existing rules.
Ahead of the 2024 Summer Olympics, several major sports, including athletics, swimming, and cycling, had already moved to exclude transgender women who had undergone male puberty.
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Notably, no openly transgender woman competed at the Paris Games, although Laurel Hubbard made history by competing at the 2021 Summer Olympics.
The IOC has defended its latest policy, stating that the framework for the 2028 Summer Olympics is designed to “protect fairness, safety and integrity in the female category.”
It also clarified that the rules will not apply retroactively and will not affect grassroots or recreational sport.