The debate about transgender women athletes in competitive sports has been going on for years. In the United States, President Donald Trump recently signed a decree banning trans women athletes from women's sports at the national level. 

Many federations have already tightened their participation rules. 

World Aquatics ruled back in 2022 that swimmers who had gone through male puberty could no longer compete in women's competitions, while, in March 2025, World Athletics announced that it would be introducing gender eligibility tests featuring cheek swabs to determine the presence of the "SRY" gene and thus of a Y chromosome.  

The tests, which could also include dried blood tests to measure testosterone levels, have been criticized by experts on both scientific and moral grounds. 

Changes could also be on the horizon for the Olympics, with the newly elected IOC President Kirsty Coventry speaking out in favor of stricter restrictions for women's categories.

DW Fact check looked at the latest studies and spoke with experts. Read the complete article here.