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(News updated 13.30)

No trans women will be competing in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. However, for the first time, a trans man will be boxing, and at least two openly trans and non-binary individuals will compete in athletics and soccer. Participation by openly trans and non-binary elite athletes is minimal. However, misinformation and the narrative of an alleged "unfair advantage" sustained by anti-rights groups have led to sports federations implementing stricter regulations .

Tokyo 2020, the previous edition of these Olympic Games, marked history because it was the first time a trans woman, Laurel Hubbard . The weightlifter was eliminated in the final of her category. Four years ago, this sparked misinformation and discussions arguing an alleged "unfair advantage" over cisgender women. Since 2021, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has deemed this argument to have no conclusive scientific basis .

From Tokyo 2020 to Paris 2024, things changed. World federations for various sports disciplines maintain stricter rules within their own "Eligibility Regulations for Female Classification of Athletes with Differences of Sexual Development" (DSD Regulations). These regulations are primarily aimed at trans women, intersex women, and those who naturally develop high levels of testosterone.

Misinformation about boxer Imane Khelif

Although no trans women are participating in Paris 2024, media outlets, social media, and even Italy's Minister of Family, Birth Rate, and Equal Opportunities, Eugenia Roccella, have spread misinformation about the gender identity of Algerian boxers Imane Khelif and Taiwanese boxer Lin Yu-Ting. This misinformation has fueled transphobic narratives on social media.

Both boxers have been subject to eligibility regulations and were disqualified from the 2023 women's world championship for failing to meet the International Boxing Association (IBA) standards regarding their naturally occurring testosterone levels. For these Olympics, the IBA is not the regulatory body, and it was the International Olympic Committee that guaranteed both boxers' participation in the Paris Olympics. 

Denying participation in sports to women who do not conform to a hegemonic type of femininity is not new. Since 1940, there is evidence that at least the World Athletics Federation has violated the human rights of elite athletes with "sex testing" for "eligibility" purposes. This is confirmed by the research "They Are Driving Us Away From Sport": Human Rights Violations in Sex Testing of Elite Female Athletes , conducted by Human Rights Watch (HRW).

Furthermore, these practices are not only sexist but also racist. In 2020, the UN determined in its report, " We Are Being Kicked Out of Sport, " that these regulations primarily affect racialized women and girls athletes from countries in the Global South. This has been the emblematic case of South African sprinter Caster Semenya .

Who are the trans and non-binary athletes competing in Paris 2024?

According to the Outsports website, at least 193 openly LGBT+ athletes are participating in these Olympics

Those competing are Quinn, a midfielder for the Canadian women's national soccer team; Nikki Hiltz, a middle-distance specialist for the United States track and field team; and Filipino transgender boxer Hergie Bacyadan.

Quinn is a key part of the Canadian women's national soccer team's midfield. This is her third Olympic Games. At Tokyo 2020, Quinn achieved a milestone by becoming the first non-binary trans person to win an Olympic gold medal.

“ I'm the first openly trans person to compete in the Olympics. I don't know how to feel. I'm proud to see 'Quinn' in the lineup and on my badge. And sad to know that there were athletes before me who couldn't live their truth because of the world ,” Quinn shared on Instagram.

Nikki Hiltz is a non-binary person who will be making her Olympic debut as part of the U.S. track and field team in the 1500 meters. 

“Talking about this is both exciting and terrifying. I am and always will be a firm believer that vulnerability and visibility are essential for social change and acceptance. My dream is for trans people to be welcomed and celebrated in sports ,” Hiltz wrote on Instagram .

Another debut: that of Olympic boxer Hergie Bacyadan of the Philippines. At these Olympics, he competed in the women's 75-kilogram category and lost his first bout and was eliminated from the competition. Hergie is a trans man who does not use testosterone as part of his gender affirmation process. On his Instagram account, he clarified, "I will never take 'T' (testosterone), but I am still a trans man because my heart says so .

What are the regulations restricting trans athletes?

Following trans weightlifter Laura Hubbert's participation in Tokyo 2020, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) published a new "framework on equity, inclusion and non-discrimination based on gender identity and sex variance" , with an emphasis on eligibility criteria for women. " There is no scientific consensus on how testosterone affects athletic performance. It is unclear what role it plays in measuring unfair advantage because performance is measured differently in each sport ."

Thus, the most recent IOC regulations determined that each sports federation must establish its own eligibility criteria. However, it states that these criteria must be " in line with human rights, supported by solid scientific evidence that considers the context and ensures the well-being of athletes ."

Since then, federations of athletics , cycling , swimming and other water sports , chess , rowing , rugby , shooting , archery , tennis , triathlon and recently the US boxing federation have generated their own policies prohibiting the participation of trans women in the women's categories of their disciplines .

The regulations range from requiring athletes to be on hormones from the age of 12, to not exceeding a certain blood testosterone level, to even having undergone sex reassignment surgery. None of these regulations are based on scientific evidence or follow the IOC's guiding principles of equality and non-discrimination. 

The impact of these regulations is not only seen in the 2024 Paris Olympics, which will be devoid of trans women. These guidelines are also used to legislate, monitor, and prohibit the participation of trans girls and young women competing at the school level . This is the case with college swimmer Lia Thomas and the 22 bills that have advanced on this issue in the United States as part of the current climate of anti-trans legislation promoted by the Republican Party , with the support of anti-rights groups.