IOC seeks global policy for females

Sailing is a founding sport of the Olympics, but until 1988, the events were either specifically for men only or were open. As men had dominated the open events, it was at the Seoul 1988 Olympics when the doublehanded 470 had a men’s and women’s event.

This was a turning point for women which provided new opportunity to compete at the highest level. The International Olympic Committee grew this initiative, and it was at the Paris 2024 Olympics when Sailing had equal medals and participation for men and women. Sailing was among 28 of the 32 sports that were fully gender-balanced.

The importance of giving women their own platform was no longer up for debate, but as transgender athletes sought participation, specifically trans women, maintaining fairness in sport became the new question.

Since different sports are impacted differently by size and strength, the IOC had opted to delegate to each international federation the responsibility for setting its own eligibility rules, but that may be changing.

The new IOC President Kirsty Coventry will review the eligibility criteria in women’s sport, shaken in recent years by controversies over the participation of transgender people or those with differences in sexual development.

“There was overwhelming support for the idea that we must protect the female category,” said Coventry. “Therefore, we will create a working group composed of experts and international federations…. The members agreed that the IOC should take a leading role in this.” – Full report

Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Sailing Program:
Men’s One Person Dinghy – ILCA 7
Women’s One Person Dinghy – ILCA 6
Mixed Two Person Dinghy – 470
Men’s Skiff – 49er
Women’s Skiff – 49erFX
Men’s Kiteboard – Formula Kite Class
Women’s Kiteboard – Formula Kite Class
Men’s Windsurfing – iQFOiL
Women’s Windsurfing – iQFOiL
Mixed Multihull – Nacra 17

Venue: Long Beach and Los Angeles
Dates: July 21-August 6