AUSTIN – U.S. Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) today sent a letter to the newly elected President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Kirsty Coventry, urging the IOC to finalize and implement a ban on biological males competing in female categories at the Olympic Games to ensure fairness, safety, and integrity in women’s sports:

“Reports indicate the working group is moving towards a complete ban on biological males competing in female events, but that decision is not yet confirmed. I urge the IOC to move swiftly toward a clear and decisive policy that protects fair and safe competition for women and prohibits biological males from competing in female categories,” wrote Sen. Cornyn.

“With the Winter Games rapidly approaching in February and preparation well underway for the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, timely action is essential. As the IOC continues its deliberations, this issue has become a global policy concern and a question of athletic integrity. In the United States, President Trump honored his unwavering commitment to women and girls with the issuance of Executive Order 14201: Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports. His action reaffirmed the longstanding belief that women’s sports must be preserved for biological females,” he continued.

“I applaud your commitment to addressing this issue and respectfully urge the International Olympic Committee to finalize the ban on biological males competing in female sports, without delay,” he concluded.

The full text of the letter is available here and below.

November 24, 2025

Ms. Kirsty Coventry

President, International Olympic Committee

Route de Vidy

1007 Lausanne, Switzerland

Dear President Coventry,

Congratulations on your historic election victory as the first female and first African President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Your remarkable career as a seven-time Olympic medalist reflects a deep personal commitment to excellence, integrity, and fair competition. I commend you for immediately demonstrating that commitment by establishing a working group dedicated to evaluating eligibility policies in women’s sports, an issue of profound importance to athletes here in the United States and around the world.

Reports indicate the working group is moving towards a complete ban on biological males competing in female events, but that decision is not yet confirmed. I urge the IOC to move swiftly toward a clear and decisive policy that protects fair and safe competition for women and prohibits biological males from competing in female categories. Scientific evidence demonstrates that biological males, even after hormone therapy, retain significant physiological advantages over biological females. These advantages include greater bone density, enhanced muscle mass, improved aerobic capacity, and increased cardiac output. Any policy designed to protect fairness in women’s athletics must reflect these empirical realities. The IOC’s announcement is not expected until next year, and it remains unclear if the new guidance will apply to the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy. With the Winter Games rapidly approaching in February and preparation well underway for the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, timely action is essential.

As the IOC continues its deliberations, this issue has become a global policy concern and a question of athletic integrity. In the United States, President Trump honored his unwavering commitment to women and girls with the issuance of Executive Order 14201: Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports. His action reaffirmed the longstanding belief that women’s sports must be preserved for biological females and declared that “it is the policy of the United States to rescind all funds from educational programs that deprive women and girls of fair athletic opportunities, which results in the endangerment, humiliation, and silencing of women and girls and deprives them of privacy.” President Trump’s leadership encouraged both the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee to update their policies to ensure that only athletes assigned female at birth may compete in women’s sports. On the international stage, the World Boxing Organization declared that all athletes will be subject to mandatory chromosomal testing to guarantee that athletes compete in the category of their sex at birth. In the United Kingdom, the Football Association (FA) recently determined that biological males will no longer be permitted to compete in women’s football. These policies reflect the understanding that fairness, safety, and equal opportunity for women are compromised when biological males are permitted to compete in female sports.

I applaud your commitment to addressing this issue and respectfully urge the International Olympic Committee to finalize the ban on biological males competing in female sports, without delay. Thank you for your attention and dedication to protecting women’s athletics.

Sincerely,

/s/