New IOC rules on the women's category do not change Estonian sport for now
The new policy of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on eligibility to compete in the women's category currently has no direct effect on the day-to-day functioning of sport in Estonia. The Estonian Olympic Committee (EOK) is not preparing its own separate set of rules for transgender athletes, and its secretary general, Kristo Tohver, says that the national sports system has encountered such cases extremely rarely. According to his comments to Estonian public broadcaster ERR, during the approximately year and a half in which he has headed the committee's operational work, the EOK has received only a few inquiries related to the issue. For that reason, officials in Tallinn currently see no need to create additional national regulation that would go beyond the rules of individual sports. National federations, Tohver stressed, will continue above all to apply the criteria of the international federations to which they belong.
That approach is important because the IOC's new policy, published on March 26, 2026, does not automatically mean the introduction of completely identical rules at all levels of sport in every country. The IOC has set conditions for competitions under its own authority, including the Olympic Games, and the new rules will begin to apply from the 2028 Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles onward. According to the IOC's official announcement, the policy is not retroactive and does not apply to recreational or mass-participation sports programs. International federations at the same time retain a key role in regulating their own competitions, so the legal and sporting effect of the new policy outside Olympic events themselves may differ from sport to sport. The Estonian approach relies precisely on that distinction: instead of a single national rule, federations will follow their own international regulations.
SRY testing becomes the basic criterion at Olympic competitions
The biggest change in the IOC's policy is the introduction of a one-time genetic screening for female athletes who want to compete in the women's category at events under IOC authority. Under the rules approved by the IOC Executive Board in March, the initial check will be based on the presence or absence of the SRY gene. This is a genetic region that is generally found on the Y chromosome and plays a key role in initiating male sexual development. The IOC states that the test can be conducted using a saliva sample, a swab from the inside of the cheek, or a blood sample, and describes it as a relatively non-invasive way of determining eligibility for the women's category. An athlete with a negative SRY result, unless there is reason to suspect an incorrect result, will not have to repeat the test under the policy.
A positive SRY result under the new rule generally means that an athlete does not meet the criteria for the women's category at IOC competitions. The policy nevertheless provides for very limited medical exceptions for certain rare differences of sex development, including complete androgen insensitivity syndrome (CAIS) and other rare variations in which, according to medical assessment, there is no benefit from the anabolic or performance-related effects of testosterone. The IOC states that athletes who are not eligible for the women's category may remain eligible for other categories for which they meet the requirements, such as the men's, mixed, or a possible open category, depending on the program and rules of the individual sport. The new policy is therefore not merely a rule concerning transgender athletes; it also applies to certain athletes with differences or variations in sex development.
The IOC explains the change by citing the goals of protecting fairness, safety, and the integrity of the women's category in elite sport. IOC President Kirsty Coventry, when presenting the policy, emphasized that the organization wants to establish a consistent standard for Olympic competitions. This represents a significant shift from the framework published by the IOC in 2021, when it gave international federations broader scope to develop their own criteria relating to gender identity and sex variations based on the specific characteristics of each sport. The 2026 policy introduces a firmer common basis for the women's category at IOC events, although international federations may still have their own detailed procedures for competitions that they organize themselves.
Estonia currently sees no reason for a separate national policy
For the EOK, what is decisive at this point is that the issue has not produced a significant number of concrete cases in Estonian sport. Tohver told ERR that the committee had been contacted only a few times over the previous 18 months regarding rules for transgender athletes. Based on that experience, he does not expect Estonia to have to adopt a separate national policy in the near future that would apply equally to all sports. This does not mean that the issue will be ignored if a specific case arises, but rather that any resolution will rely primarily on the existing hierarchy of sports rules and the regulations of international federations.
In practice, this means that Estonian track and field athletes, boxers, swimmers, basketball players, or athletes from other disciplines do not necessarily have to be subject to an identical regime outside the Olympic system. Each national federation operates within the rules of its international federation, and it is precisely international governing bodies that have in recent years begun adopting different models for the women's category. Some federations introduced genetic testing even before the IOC, while others apply different criteria or are still adapting their regulations. For that reason, the EOK's decision not to create an additional Estonian layer of rules at this stage reduces the possibility that national regulations could come into direct conflict with the rules of an individual sport.
Sports biologist Kristjan Port, whose comments were reported by ERR, warned that physiological differences between men and women increase particularly after puberty. He cited differences in muscle mass, muscle-fiber diameter, body size and proportions, as well as related respiratory and cardiovascular capacities, which may affect strength, endurance, and sporting performance. At the same time, he stressed that no rule can capture all biological complexity and every individual case. It is precisely this tension between the desire for a simple, applicable criterion and the complexity of biology that lies at the center of the international debate over the new policy.
Some international federations have already moved in the same direction
Athletics is one of the clearest examples of a sport that introduced a genetic criterion before the new Olympic policy. World Athletics announced in July 2025 that all athletes wishing to compete in the women's category at world-ranking competitions must undergo a one-time test for the SRY gene. The rule took effect on September 1, 2025, and was already applied at the World Championships in Tokyo. World Athletics justified the decision by citing the protection of the integrity of the women's category, and national federations were expected to organize testing as part of their teams' preparations. For Estonian athletics, this means that the relevant international criterion exists regardless of whether the EOK adopts a separate general policy.
World Boxing chose a similar direction, adopting a policy in 2025 requiring mandatory genetic testing to determine eligibility for the men's and women's categories. Under that organization's rules, a PCR test or a functionally equivalent genetic test is used to verify chromosomal sex, with the SRY gene serving as one of the key indicators. World Boxing initially applied testing as a priority to the women's category, while from January 1, 2026, it required the corresponding certification for all adult athletes participating in its competitions. The organization justifies the decision by citing boxer safety and the need for equal competitive conditions.
These examples show why Estonia currently does not consider it necessary to adopt a single national rule. An athlete competing internationally must in any event satisfy the criteria of the relevant world federation and, within the Olympic cycle, additionally the IOC criteria that will apply to Los Angeles 2028. A national policy could become more relevant if cases arise that are not covered by international rules, for example at exclusively domestic competitions or in sports without a clearly established eligibility system. According to Tohver, such a need is not currently pronounced enough to justify separate Estonian regulation.
The debate is not limited only to sporting performance
The IOC's new policy has also drawn criticism from organizations and experts who raise concerns about privacy, dignity, medical confidentiality, and discrimination. In a communication published on July 21, 2026, several independent experts associated with the United Nations special procedures expressed serious concern about the IOC policy and the manner in which it could be implemented. They particularly questioned mandatory testing of all athletes in the women's category and the fact that a single genetic criterion is applied to very different sports without a separate assessment for each discipline. They also warned of the possible impact of such procedures on athletes' privacy, bodily integrity, and psychological well-being.
On the other hand, the IOC and federations that have introduced similar rules argue that clear criteria are necessary if the women's category is to preserve its purpose in elite competition, particularly in disciplines in which strength, speed, endurance, or physical safety play a major role. The IOC states that it prepared its new policy through a months-long review and consultation process and that SRY screening was chosen as a criterion that can be applied consistently, once in a lifetime, and with relatively simple sampling. World Athletics and World Boxing also emphasize the protection of privacy and confidentiality of results in their rules, although critics argue that the very requirement for genetic testing raises issues that such safeguards cannot fully eliminate.
For national Olympic committees such as Estonia's, this creates a dual obligation. On the one hand, they must prepare athletes for the conditions of international competitions and ensure that national-team representatives meet the formal criteria in good time. On the other hand, they must take care to protect sensitive health and genetic data and ensure that athletes receive clear information about the procedure and the options available to them if a result raises additional medical questions. Although the EOK currently has no need for separate eligibility rules, practical implementation issues could become more important as qualifying competitions for the 2028 Games approach.
Los Angeles 2028 will be the first major test of the new policy
The Olympic Games in Los Angeles will be the first Summer Olympic event at which the IOC's new policy will be applied as a common standard for the women's category. This means that international federations and national Olympic committees will have to align procedures for proving eligibility, exchanging certifications, and protecting data before the Games. The IOC has clearly stated that the policy applies from LA28 onward, so its effects will be assessed not only according to the number of athletes who may lose eligibility to compete in the women's category, but also according to how administratively workable, legally sustainable, and medically reliable the system proves to be. For smaller sports systems, including Estonia's, the cost and organization of testing will also be important if certifications have to be collected through national federations.
The Estonian case currently shows that a highly polarized global debate does not necessarily have the same intensity in every national sports system. The EOK records only sporadic inquiries and sees no immediate reason for its own rulebook, while international rules are already changing from sport to sport. If concrete cases arise in the future, Estonian institutions will have to decide whether relying on international federations is sufficient or whether a national framework for domestic competitions is also needed. Until then, the key change for Estonian athletes will be the one coming from outside: everyone aiming to compete in the women's category at the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles will have to comply with the IOC's new policy, regardless of the fact that Estonia currently is not introducing additional rules.
Sources:
- ERR News – statements by Estonian Olympic Committee secretary general Kristo Tohver and sports biologist Kristjan Port on the impact of the new rules on sport in Estonia (link)
- International Olympic Committee – official announcement of the policy on protecting the women's category, its application from Los Angeles 2028, SRY testing, and medical exceptions (link)
- World Athletics – official rules on the one-time SRY test for competing in the women's category from September 2025 (link)
- World Boxing – official policy on mandatory genetic testing and eligibility criteria for competition categories (link)
- Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights – special procedures communication of July 21, 2026, concerning concerns related to the IOC's new policy (link)