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The new president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Kirsty Coventry, addressed the subject of transgender athletes who have participated in female sports at his first official press conference since the takeover on Thursday, and said that there was “crushing support” by CIO members to protect the female category.
“We understand that there will be differences according to sport … But it was very clear of the members that we must protect the female category, above all to ensure equity,” said Coventry.
“But we must do it with a scientific approach and the inclusion of international federations which have already done a lot of work in this area.”
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Kirsty Coventry laughs at a press conference after being elected president of the IOC at the 144th session of the International Olympic Committee in Costa Navarino, Western Gree, Thursday, March 2025. (APTO Photo / Thanassis Stavrakis)
The new president added that there is “unanimous” support to achieve an agreement on how to modify politics, and suggested that the IOC could draw inspiration from global athletics policy, which prevents biological men from competing female sports if these men have crossed male puberty.
“It was very clear of the membership that the discussion around this must be done with medical and scientific research at the heart, we therefore examine the facts and the nuances and the inclusion of international federations which have done so much of this work … Having a siege at the table and sharing with us because each sport is different,” she said.
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Kirsty Coventry reacts after she was announced as the new CIO president to the International Olympic Committee 144th Session in Costa Navarino, Greece West, Thursday March 2025. (APTO Photo / Thanassis Stavrakis)
“But it was almost unanimously felt that the IOC should play a leading role by bringing together everyone to try to find a large consensus.”
However, Coventry also said that not all changes have not led to retroactively modifying the results of past competitions that presented athletes with gender eligibility issues. The Paris 2024 Olympic Games presented two boxers winning gold in female competition, despite the gender eligibility tests for international competitions.
“We are not going to do anything retrospectively. We will wait impatiently. Members [it] “What do we know about the past, and how are we going to take advantage of this and advance this to the future?” Said Coventry.
Last year, the The United Nations The results of the study published which say that nearly 900 biological women are below the podium because they have been beaten by transgender athletes.
The president of the International Olympic Committee (CIO), Kirsty Coventry, speaks during the presidential transfer ceremony of the International Olympic Committee (CIO) at the Olympic House on June 23, 2025, in Lausanne, Switzerland. Kirsty Coventry will succeed the ninth president of the IOC, Thomas Bach. Coventry was elected in March 2025 and is the first woman president of the history of the IOC. (Harold Cunningham / Getty Images)
The study, entitled “Violence against women and girls in sport”, said that more than 600 athletes did not medalist in more than 400 competitions in 29 different sports, totaling more than 890 medals, according to information obtained until March 30.
“The replacement of the female sports category with a mixed sex category has led to an increasing number of female athletes losing opportunities, including medals, during competition against men,” said the report.
