Transgender athletes are allowed to compete in the Olympics

Transgender athletes will be allowed to compete in the Olympics without having to undergo reassignment surgery to return to their original gender, according to a new announcement from the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

Transgender athletes can compete in “unrestricted” male categories under new guidelines.

Male athletes who transition to female are required to take hormone therapy, and will be tested for testosterone levels below 10 nanomoles/liter at least a year before participating and “maintain sufficient condition throughout that time to compete in women’s events.”

Although limited, the documentation suggests that these regulations are based on the principles of fair and honest competition.

“This is essential to ensure that, as far as possible, transgender athletes are not deprived of the opportunity to compete in sport. The most important objective of sport is to ensure fair competition,” according to the guidelines posted on the IOC website.

The IOC has begun allowing transgender athletes to compete fully.

“Requiring re-operation as a condition of participation in competition is not necessary to ensure fair competition and would be inconsistent with evolving laws and human rights concepts,” the document added.

The IOC stressed that they decided to choose this policy because of changing social attitudes towards transgender people.

According to CAND