New recommendations from the IOC state that transgender athletes "should be allowed to compete at this year's Rio Olympics without undergoing sex reassignment surgery," according to Ben Bloom of the London TELEGRAPH.
Under existing IOC guidelines, which have been in place since '03, athletes who transition from male to female or vice versa "are required to have reassignment surgery followed by at least two years of hormone therapy in order to be eligible to compete."
Now, surgery will no longer be required, with female-to-male transgender athletes eligible to take part in men's competitions "without restriction."
Those athletes transitioning the other way from male-to-female "will need to prove that their testosterone level has been below a certain cut-off point for at least one year before their first competition."
The new guidelines -- which the IOC say have been brought in to adapt to current scientific, social and legal attitudes on transgender issues -- "are not fixed rules or regulations but are instead designed as recommendations for international sports federations to follow." IOC Medical Dir Richard Budgett said, "I don't think many federations have rules on defining eligibility of transgender individuals. This should give them the confidence and stimulus to put these rules in place."
A statement from the IOC said, "The overriding sporting objective is and remains the guarantee of fair competition." Former IOC Medical Commission Chair Arne Ljungqvist, who was among the experts involved in drafting the new guidelines, said that "the consensus was driven by social and political changes."
The transgender issue "gained prominence after former Olympic decathlon champion Bruce Jenner announced last year that he had transitioned to a woman named Caitlyn."
A controversial petition urging the IOC to "revoke" her Gold Medal has gained more than 15,000 signatures (TELEGRAPH, 1/25).
