Unlike your recent contributors (“Ottawa should counter bans on trans athletes in sport,” March 31, 2026), I was pleased watching the IOC press conference on March 26th, as two female Olympians, IOC President Kristy Coventry and Canada’s Dr. Jane Thornton, introduced and rationally explained the new IOC policy protecting the integrity of the female Olympic category.
The policy aims to exclude male sex-based advantages from the female category. It also recognized that female athletes experience sex-based disadvantages. Sport science provides substantial evidence – cited in the new policy framework – that males have advantages in many sports due to the effects of testosterone on strength, power and endurance. And these differences start early, in the womb.
At my first Olympics in 1992 I underwent the SRY genetic sex verification testing. It was no big deal. At the 1996 Olympics, a survey of female athletes found 82 per cent wanted testing to continue, but it was stopped. This left eligibility for female sports vaguely regulated and, in the years since, policies have shifted repeatedly. The changes were often driven by social and political trends rather than data – with little consideration for fairness or the safety of female athletes.
Kidd and Mazzucco have every right to advocate for XY athletes in the female category, but they should also consider the interests of female athletes, who also have rights. In the 2016 Rio Olympics, Canada’s Melissa Bishop finished fourth in the 800m final. All three medals in that race were won by XY athletes with a relevant genetic condition generally referred to as differences in sex development (DSD). These individuals have testes and have experienced full or partial male puberty. The race drew significant attention to competitive unfairness. Comments from athletes afterward reflected their frustration and anger.
Recent steps by the IOC and international federations will help bring greater clarity. However, in Canada, many domestic sport policies outside Alberta still allow genetic males who identify as females to compete in female sports. Female athletes at all levels — including junior and masters sport — deserve fairness and safety in their competitions.
The IOC’s direction is a welcome development, and I hope it encourages thoughtful, evidence-based discussion and rational eligibility rules for the female category across Canadian sport.
Alison Sydor, four-time Olympian, 1996 Olympic silver medalist
