Transgender Athletes in the Olympics
Tokyo 2020 marked the first time an openly transgender athlete competed in the Olympics, despite there being a policy in place since 2003.
A Brief History of Transgender Athletes in the Olympics
2003
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) convenes an ad-hoc committee to discuss and issue recommendations for the participation of transgender athletes in the Olympic Games.
Known as "The Stockholm Consensus," the policy stated that individuals undergoing sex reassignment from male to female after puberty (and the converse) be eligible for participation in female or male competitions, respectively, under the following conditions:
1. Surgical anatomical changes have been completed, including external genitalia changes and gonadectomy
2. Legal recognition of their assigned sex has been conferred by the appropriate official authorities
3. Hormonal therapy appropriate for the assigned sex has been administered in a verifiable manner and for two years after gonadectomy.
2008
Transgender man Keelin Godsey competes in the women's Olympic Trials in Hammer Throw and places 8th. missing a spot on the Olympic Team.
2012
Transgender man Keelin Godsey competes in the women's Olympic Trials in Hammer Throw and places 5th. missing a spot on the Olympic Team.
2015
Transgender man Chris Mosier qualified for the men's duathlon world championship and challenged the International Olympic Committee policy, specifically asking for the removal of the requirement for surgery.
At the IOC Consensus Meeting in November 2015, parties agreed the following guidelines to be taken into account by sports organizations when determining eligibility to compete in male and female competition:
1. Those who transition from female to male are eligible to compete in the male category without restriction.
2. Those who transition from male to female are eligible to compete in the female category under the following conditions:
2.1. The athlete has declared that her gender identity is female. The declaration cannot be changed, for sporting purposes, for a minimum of four years.
2.2. The athlete must demonstrate that her total testosterone level in serum has been below 10 nmol/L for at least 12 months prior to her first competition (with the requirement for any longer period to be based on a confidential case-by-case evaluation, considering whether or not 12 months is a sufficient length of time to minimize any advantage in women’s competition).
2.3. The athlete's total testosterone level in serum must remain below 10nmol/L throughout the period of desired eligibility to compete in the female category.
2.4. Compliance with these conditions may be monitored by testing. In the event of non-compliance, the athlete’s eligibility for female competition will be suspended for 12 months.
2016
Transgender man Chris Mosier becomes the first transgender athlete to compete internationally under the new IOC policy in a non-Olympic World Championship competition.
No transgender athletes qualify for the 2016 Rio Olympics.
2020
Transgender man Chris Mosier becomes the first transgender athlete to compete in the Olympic Trials in a category other then their sex assigned at birth. Mosier competed in the 2020 Olympic Trials for 50k Racewalking, but withdrew from the race due to injury.
Ness Murby came out publicly as transgender and became the first openly trans Paralympian. Ness competes for Canada in ParaAthletics in the F11/T11 classification for athletes with the least functional vision.
2021
The delayed Tokyo 2020 Olympics in 2021 had four known transgender or nonbinary athletes:
Laurel Hubbard - New Zealand weightlifter
Quinn (nonbinary) - Canadian women's soccer player
Chelsea Wolfe - United States BMX alternate
Alana Smith (nonbinary) - United States skateboarder
2022
Ness Murby made history as the first openly trans man to compete in the men’s discus division and also the first openly trans man to be included in the world ParaAthletics rankings.
2024
In the Paris 2024 Olympics, there were three known transgender or nonbinary athletes:
Nikki Hiltz (nonbinary) - United States track and field, 1500m
Quinn (nonbinary) - Canadian women's soccer player
Raven Saunders (nonbinary) - United States track and field, shot put