RILEY GAINES: Olympics finally picks biology over ideology to save women’s sports

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The International Olympic Committee (IOC) bans biological men from women's sporting events starting with the 2028 Los Angeles Games.

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The International Olympic Committee finally did what so many of us have been demanding for years: it drew a clear, unambiguous line in the sand to protect women’s sports. Under its first-ever female president, Kirsty Coventry, the IOC announced a new eligibility policy that limits competition in the female category at the Olympics, Youth Olympics and all IOC-sanctioned events to females only. Novel concept, right? In today's world, it is.
Starting with the 2028 Los Angeles Games, this will be verified through a simple, one-time SRY gene screening — a cheek swab, saliva sample, or blood draw — to confirm the absence of the male sex-determining gene. Chromosomes don’t lie. No more gray areas. No more pretending biology is optional.
This is a giant leap forward for women’s sports. They’ve done the right thing with a strong, clear policy. No equivocation, no tap-dancing, no pretense of "balancing priorities." And they’ve backed it up with an objective, verifiable means of enforcement. Those responsible this time around deserve real congratulations.
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For too long, female athletes have been asked to accept a lie: that a man who identifies as a woman somehow becomes our physical equal simply by declaring it. We saw the brutal reality of that lie in the 2024 Paris Olympics boxing ring. Algerian boxer Imane Khelif — born with a Y chromosome and the male advantages that come with it — stepped into the ring against females. The result? Punches that left opponents like Italy’s Angela Carini in tears, withdrawing in pain after just 46 seconds. The IOC not only allowed it; the world watched it get sanctioned and applauded as some kind of progressive triumph. But it wasn’t progressive. Actually, it was the contrary. This was the ultimate act of regression, betrayal and misogyny. It was state-sponsored cheating and outright rewarding violence against women. Female boxers were put in real physical danger, all for the sake of "inclusion" that excluded fairness and safety.
The new policy fixes that. And despite what most legacy outlets are misleadingly reporting, no one is banned from the Olympics solely because of what they identify as. Males — whether they identify as "transgender women" or have certain differences of sex development — can still compete. They just have to do so in the category that aligns with their sex: the men’s division.
Don't you think it’s telling that the critics never seem to mention "trans men" being "banned" from men’s sports? That’s because women don’t pose a threat to fairness or safety when they enter male categories. The selective outrage reveals everything about the biological reality we’re not allowed to acknowledge.
Of course, the usual suspects are already screaming "discrimination" and "invasion of privacy." They’ll paint this as some dystopian genital inspection. Let’s set the record straight: this is a simple cheek swab. It’s cheap, accurate and done once in a lifetime. That’s it. It’s far less invasive than the COVID nasal swabs athletes endured for years or the random drug tests they submit to constantly.
If someone claims a basic cheek swab is invasive, yet dismisses women who express concern about showering next to a man in their locker room, they're not a serious person.
Without this kind of objective testing, any policy is toothless. Resorting to documents like birth certificates or drivers licenses to determine sex, unfortunately, does not suffice anymore. Birth certificates can be changed in 44 states and countless countries worldwide. Self-identification offers zero protection for the female category.
This policy is only as good as its enforcement, and the IOC has finally paired principle with proof. That’s what makes it historic.
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And it goes without saying that none of this would have happened without real leadership and pressure from the United States. President Trump’s 2025 executive order made it clear: organizations allowing males in female categories would risk losing federal funding. With the 2028 Games headed to Los Angeles, the IOC had to confront that reality head-on. The timing is no coincidence. American resolve mattered. It protected not just our athletes but the global standard for women’s sport.
My hope is that this cascades. World Athletics has already led the way with its own strict rules. More international governing bodies must follow. The dominoes are falling, one by one. Charlie Baker, the President of the NCAA, could learn from Kristy Coventry and do the right thing. He has a real opportunity in front of him to prove fairness, reality and equality matter.
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To every young girl with dreams of being an Olympian, every female athlete who has competed in silence, every parent who has watched their daughter get pushed aside and every coach who has fought behind the scenes…this is your moment too. The tide has turned.
Go Team USA. The 2028 Los Angeles Games are going to be historic for all the right reasons.
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Riley Gaines is a 12-time NCAA All-American who competed for the University of Kentucky NCAA swim team before retiring from competition and focusing on political activism. Riley is host of "The Riley Gaines Show" podcast. Watch "The Riley Gaines Show" on YouTube, or listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and anywhere you get your podcasts. New episodes drop Wednesdays and Fridays.