Ahead of the 2024 Summer Olympic Games, transgender athletes continue to face restrictions in some sports.

Debates around transgender athletes have soared in recent years with conservatives arguing against the participation of transgender athletes, arguing it allows for an unfair advantage. As athletes gear up to head to the 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Paris, France, which will begin on July 26 through August 11, transgender athletes are facing restrictions in some sports

According to the International Olympic Committee (IOC), which recently updated its guidelines in January regarding the participation of transgender athletes in the Olympic Games, allows individual sports to determine whether trans athletes can compete.

"This Framework recognizes both the need to ensure that everyone, irrespective of their gender identity or sex variations, can practice sport in a safe, harassment-free environment that recognizes and respects their needs and identities," the committee said.

However, since the IOC allowed individual sports to set their own policies on trans participation, multiple sports have updated their policies, largely in relation to trans women.

Newsweek has reached out to the IOC via online form for comment.

Transition Age Requirement

For the Paris 2024 Olympics, the new guidelines require transgender women to have completed their transition before the age of 12 to be eligible to compete in the women's category. This rule is intended to prevent any perceived unfair advantages that might arise from undergoing male puberty.

In addition, at least 10 Olympic sports have restricted the participation of transgender athletes. These include sports like athletics, cycling, swimming, rugby, rowing, and boxing.

The World Athletics and the International Cycling Union have both set stringent criteria that generally exclude transgender women who transitioned after puberty from participating in women's events. Additionally, some sports like cycling have introduced "open" categories where both male-identifying and transgender athletes can compete.

According to Context News, World Rowing has issued a near-blanket ban on the participation of trans women in female categories.

The world bodies for athletics, swimming, rugby and cricket have banned trans women from competing in female categories if they underwent puberty before starting their transition.

In addition, the governing bodies for the triathlon, tennis and archery require testosterone levels to be suppressed within a specified limit.

This comes as the IOC had previously issued guidelines in 2015, that put a limit on athletes' testosterone levels that required some of them to undergo treatments the IOC now describes as "medically unnecessary." It specifically allowed any transgender athlete to compete as a woman as long as their testosterone levels were below 10 nanomoles per liter for at least 12 months before their first competition.

Physical Transition Requirement

In addition, before 2016, the IOC required athletes to undergo genital surgery.

The restrictions continue following New Zealand weightlifter Laurel Hubbard, who became one of the first transgender athletes to compete in the Olympics at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.

More recently, American swimmer Lia Thomas, who became the first trans athlete to win a National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) title in 2022, launched legal action against World Aquatics after its updated policy excluded her from competing in the Olympics.

This comes as proponents of allowing transgender athletes to compete according to their gender identity argue that sports should be inclusive and accessible to all, regardless of gender identity, emphasizing the importance of equality and non-discrimination, pointing out that transgender athletes often face significant barriers in sports, including societal stigma and discrimination.

In the U.S. the issue has been left up for states to decide, with over 20 states implementing policies that restrict transgender athletes' ability to participate in sports that correspond with their gender identity. Those laws sparked lawsuits, arguing that transgender athletes were being discriminated against.