Milano Cortina 2026: The Last Winter Games Under Patchwork Transgender Athlete Rules
By Karolos Grohmann
MILAN, Feb 2 (Reuters) – The curtain rises on the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics this Friday, assembling the planet's premier athletes for a celebration of snow and ice. Beyond the competition for medals, these Games will mark a pivotal endpoint: they are expected to be the last Olympics conducted under the current, inconsistent patchwork of rules governing the eligibility of transgender athletes in women's sports.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has signalled it will soon unveil new, universal guidelines, framing them as essential to safeguarding the integrity of women's competitions. This move follows years of intense debate and ad-hoc policies set by individual sports federations.
The Core of the Controversy
The question of transgender participation in elite sport has become one of the most polarising issues in global athletics. Governing bodies grapple with a dual mandate: ensuring fair competition in female categories while upholding principles of non-discrimination and inclusion.
Advocacy groups argue that blanket exclusions constitute discrimination and violate the Olympic spirit. Conversely, many scientists, athletes, and coaches contend that the physiological advantages conferred by male puberty, such as bone density and muscle mass, are not fully reversed by hormone therapy, creating an inherent competitive imbalance.
The political landscape has further intensified the debate. In 2025, U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order barring transgender athletes from women's sports in educational institutions, a policy the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee later mirrored for its own events.
The Current Landscape at the Games
Under existing IOC framework, transgender athletes *can* compete in the Olympics, provided they meet criteria set by their sport's international federation. This delegation has resulted in a regulatory mosaic. For instance, World Athletics bans transgender women who underwent male puberty, while World Aquatics permits only those who transitioned before age 12.
At the Milano Cortina Games, Swedish freestyle skier Elis Lundholm is set to compete in the women's moguls event. Lundholm, 23, was assigned female at birth and identifies as a man but competes in the women's category under International Ski Federation (FIS) rules. The IOC confirmed to Reuters that Lundholm's participation is "in accordance with FIS eligibility criteria."
A Shift in IOC Policy
For years, the IOC resisted a one-size-fits-all rule, urging federations in 2021 to craft their own guidelines focused on inclusion. However, under the leadership of President Kirsty Coventry, the Committee reversed course in 2025. It announced it would take centralised control, prioritising competitive fairness and pledging to issue new, binding regulations by the first quarter of 2026.
This sets the stage for a potential overhaul before the 2028 Los Angeles Summer Games, an event President Trump has vowed will not feature transgender athletes in women's categories.
Voices from the Stands
"As a former collegiate runner, I'm deeply conflicted," says Michaela Torres, 34, a sports blogger from Denver. "We must protect opportunities for women and girls, which were hard-won. The science on retained advantage is compelling, and ignoring it undermines the very concept of a women's category."
Dr. Arjun Mehta, 41, a sociologist at the University of Milan, offers a calmer perspective: "This is fundamentally about how we define fairness in a diverse society. The IOC's move to a universal standard is necessary, but it must be nuanced, evidence-based, and developed in consultation with all stakeholders—especially transgender athletes themselves."
Striking a more emotional tone, Riley Carter, 28, an activist and former swimmer, argues: "This entire debate is dehumanizing and fueled by panic. It reduces athletes to their biology and ignores their humanity. Excluding transgender women from sports is pure discrimination, dressed up as concern for fairness. It's a moral failure for the Olympic movement."
Historical Context and Future Implications
The Olympics have seen a handful of openly transgender competitors, most notably New Zealand weightlifter Laurel Hubbard at Tokyo 2021. The upcoming rule change signifies a decisive moment, moving from federation-led discretion to a centralised Olympic standard. The outcome will resonate far beyond the slopes of Cortina, influencing school sports, national policies, and the very philosophy of categorisation in athletics for decades to come.
(Reporting by Karolos Grohmann; Edited by Pritha Sarkar for Reuters)