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American transgender women will no longer be able to compete in women’s events at the Olympics and Paralympics after a recent policy change by the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC).
A new note on the USOPC website regarding the participation of transgender athletes in sports says: “As of July 21, 2025, please refer to the USOPC athlete safety policy.”
The policy update, which follows an executive order by US President Donald Trump earlier this year, was added to the USOPC Athlete Safety Policy on its website as a new subsection entitled “Additional Requirements”.
“The USOPC is committed to protecting opportunities for athletes participating in sport,” the addition reads.
“The USOPC will keep working with several stakeholders who have oversight responsibilities … to guarantee that women have a fair and safe competition environment, aligning with Executive Order 14201 [Trump’s order] and the Ted Stevens Olympic & Amateur Sports Act.”
The Stevens Act, adopted in 1988, provides a means of handling eligibility disputes for Olympic sports and other amateur events.
What was Trump’s executive order?
The executive order instructed the state department to pressure the International Olympic Committee to change its policy, which allows trans athletes to compete under general guidance preventing any athlete from gaining an unfair advantage.
A memo to Team USA from USOPC chief executive Sarah Hirshland and president Gene Sykes obtained by American television network ABC News and ESPN made reference to Trump’s executive order, saying: “As a federally chartered organisation, we have an obligation to comply with federal expectations.”
Trump’s executive order poses a threat to withdraw federal funds from any school or institution permitting transgender girls to participate on girls’ teams, arguing that doing so would breach rules that provide equal sports opportunities for US women.
The order requires immediate enforcement against institutions that deny women single-sex sports and single-sex locker rooms.
The order is expected to affect only a small number of athletes. The president of the National Collegiate Athletics Association told a Senate panel in December he was aware of fewer than 10 transgender athletes among the 530,000 competing at 1,100 member schools.
Trump’s order also calls for the US government to deny visas for transgender females seeking to compete in the US.
“Our revised policy emphasises the importance of ensuring fair and safe competition environments for women,” ESPN quoted the USOPC letter to governing bodies as saying.
“All national governing bodies are required to update their applicable policies in alignment.”
ESPN also said the officials noted the USOPC “has engaged in a series of respectful and constructive conversations with federal officials” in the wake of Trump’s executive order.
The move comes as Los Angeles awaits a host role for the 2028 Summer Olympics.
The US-based National Collegiate Athletic Association also altered its policy for transgender athlete participation to limit women’s sports competitors to athletes assigned female at birth after Trump’s executive order.
