New President Kirsty Coventry Says IOC Will Protect Female Sports
Speaking at her first press conference since assuming the presidency of the International Olympic Committee earlier in the week, Kirsty Coventry declared that the IOC will protect the female category. Coventry’s approach is a shift from IOC’s previous stance, which punted the topic to individual governing bodies.
Transgender women competing in the female category has been a hot-button issue over the past few years, with the opposing sides citing inclusivity and fairness as their main arguments. Coventry indicated that the IOC will no longer be passive in addressing the topic, but will instead gather together experts and international federations when determining gender eligibility.
“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.” said Coventry, who has replaced Thomas Bach as President. “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.”
In June 2022, with the IOC leaving decisions concerning gender eligibility to various governing bodies, World Aquatics adopted a policy that does not allow transgender women to compete in the female category if they transitioned after going through male puberty.
A seven-time Olympic medalist, Coventry emphasized the need to protect the female category during her campaign to be IOC President. The 41-year-old from Zimbabwe is a seven-time Olympic medalist.