Will trans athletes be allowed to participate in the LA 2028 Olympic Games? What we know so far

With the upcoming departure of Olympic president Thomas Bach, and the rising anti-trans rhetoric in the US, concerns over the policy on transgender inclusion at the Los Angeles Olympics, in 2028, have increased.

Bach, who has led the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for more than 11 years, announced his resignation last month, despite calls from board members for him to remain.

His policies on trans inclusion have, despite the rise of transphobia worldwide, ensured that the community, particularly trans women, had their chance to compete in sporting’s biggest event.

But his planned departure, set for 23 June, coupled with the beliefs of several potential successors, have raised the question of whether transgender athletes will be able to compete in three years’ time.

What had Donald Trump said about trans athletes?

It’s no secret that US president Donald Trump is vehemently opposed to transgender athletes participating in competitive events and he has expressed his disdain for them generally on a number of occasions.

According to GLAAD’s accountability tracker, which details the amount of times the president has attacked LGBTQ+ people, Trump has commented on or enacted policies aimed at the community at least 248 times.

In 2020, during Trump’s first term in the White House, the Justice Department filed a statement of interest supporting a state law that not only banned trans women from competing in women’s competitions but permitted genital and genetic screenings to specifically exclude them.

The Trump administration also withheld federal funds from school districts that were accepting of trans athletes, which GLAAD said has “national implications for both transgender athletes and students of colour”.

Trump remained exclusionary during his presidential campaign, saying of trans athletes: “Who would even think you can allow this? Who would say this is OK? Those people are sick, they are deranged.”

More recently, he signed an executive order banning trans women from competitive sports, and, during his address to a joint session of congress earlier this month, the president claimed a school athlete received a “traumatic brain injury” after competing against a transgender player.

How is boxer Imane Khelif involved in the Olympics policy on trans inclusion?

While the Olympics has faced several controversies over the participation of trans athletes over the years, the 2024 Paris Games faced an unprecedented amount of media attention over the gender identity of boxer Imane Khelif.

The 25-year-old welterweight became embroiled in a controversy over her gender identity and chromosomes after beating Italy’s Angela Carini, on the way to winning the gold medal in the 66kg category.

The controversy stemmed from a 2023 disqualification after she failed an eligibility criteria test by the Russian boxing governing body. While no details were given about what standards Khelif had failed to meet, the president of the International Boxing Association, Umar Kremlev, claimed that the tests “proved [Khelif] had XY chromosomes.”

The boxer does not publicly identify as transgender, intersex or non-binary. Despite this, Trump has repeatedly labeled Khelif and fellow female boxing gold medalist Lin Yu-ting as men.

The IOC backed Khelif and Yu-ting, questioning the validity of the Russian tests, and IOC spokesperson Mark Adams said not only did she meet Olympic eligibility criteria, but also that it was “not a transgender issue“.

“These two women boxers have been born as women, they have been raised as women, they have competed as women and nobody ever claimed even that they are transgender,” IOC President Thomas Bach said in a recent interview with The Associated Press.

Regardless, the controversy put trans-inclusion at the Olympics front and centre.

On 19 March, Imane Khelif spoke out about her plans to defend her Olympic gold medal in LA in 2028, saying she intends to compete and that she is not “intimidated” by Trump, telling ITV: “I will give you a straightforward answer: the U.S. president issued a decision related to transgender policies in America. I am not transgender. This does not concern me, and it does not intimidate me. That is my response.”

How many trans athletes have competed in the Olympics?

Since the IOC first allowed trans athletes to compete in 2004, several competitors have made history in their respective sports.

However, it wouldn’t be until more than 10 years later that the first out trans person, New Zealand weightlifter Laurel Hubbard, actually competed at the Games.

Hubbard took part in the over-87kg super heavyweight category at the 2020 Olympics, in Tokyo – delayed by a year by the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the same year, Canadian footballer Quinn became the first out non-binary person to compete at the Olympics, going on to win a gold medal.

Other notable competitors include Alana Smith, a non-binary skateboarder who reached the semi-finals in Tokyo, and Timothy LeDuc, who became the first out non-binary athlete to compete in the Winter Olympics, when they took part in the pairs skating event, alongside Ashley Cain, in Beijing in 2022.

What has Thomas Bach said about trans athletes in the Olympics?

Bach’s inclusive approach to trans participation has been felt strongly since he became IOC chairman in 2013.

In 2024, the IOC issued guidance ahead of the Paris Games, strongly urging against the use of “biological language” – terms such as “biologically male” and “biologically female” are often used to exclude transgender people.

Bach commented on gender eligibility guidance, as well as Trump’s anti-trans rhetoric, in an interview with CNN, on Tuesday (18 March).

Speaking to Aleks Klosok, the outgoing IOC chairman said the “phenomenon” of transphobic, conspiratorial touting over “fairness” in sports was concerning. He specifically criticised individuals who had jumped on the Khelif controversy bandwagon.

“We need to dig a little deeper [into] how in this world you can expose the facts then discuss these facts and how to interpret these facts,” Bach said.

While emphasising that Khelif was not, and has never identified as, transgender, he added: “The American people, and not only the American people but the millions of spectators, will welcome her if she would want to compete in the Games in LA.”

What have Bach’s possible successors said about trans rights?

According to Reuters, there are four contenders in with a chance of succeeding Bach: IOC vice-president Juan Antonio Samaranch Jr, World Athletics president Lord Sebastian Coe, former Olympic swimming gold-medallist Kirsty Coventry and Jordan Olympic Committee president Prince Feisal Al Hussein.

None of them appear to share Bach’s beliefs in inclusiveness. Last year, Lord Coe told the BBC that the IOC needed to improve its rules on trans and intersex inclusion.

“The International Olympic Committee needs a very, very clear policy in this space, the protection of the female category, for me, is absolutely non-negotiable,” he said.

Just last week, Samaranch said he felt the governing body should implement a clear-cut policy on transgender participation, adding that the Paris Olympics was “tainted by the issue”.

Coventry has gone even further, saying she would back a blanket ban on transgender women in female Olympic sports because cisgender women would have an inherent disadvantage.

And earlier this month, Hussein said trans people should be “treated fairly and equitably,” but under the principle that “there should be no unfair advantage”, adding: “If there are [unfair advantages], they should be addressed like any other type of injustice in sport.”

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