With just 100 days remaining until the Winter Olympics open in Italy, the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) has launched a sweeping initiative to identify female skiers and snowboarders who must undergo gender testing before they can compete on the world stage. The move comes after the sport’s international governing body, the International Ski Federation (FIS), adopted a new rule in September 2025 mandating that all athletes wishing to participate in women’s events take the so-called SRY gene test, which detects the presence of the Y chromosome found in males. This requirement, already in place in track and field and boxing, has thrust the USOPC into the center of a complex, costly, and controversial process that is reverberating throughout the sporting world.
The SRY gene test, which costs about $250 per athlete, is designed to determine whether an individual has a Y chromosome, a marker typically associated with male biological sex. According to the Associated Press, the number of tests required could reach into the hundreds, as athletes in all disciplines covered by skiing and snowboarding are currently traveling the globe, competing in FIS-sanctioned events that will determine who ultimately makes the Olympic team.
Dr. Jonathan Finnoff, USOPC’s chief medical officer, said on Tuesday that the committee’s experience with expediting similar testing for track and field and boxing athletes earlier this year would help streamline the process for skiers and snowboarders. “Our role in that was helping identify labs and options for the athletes to be able to get that testing,” Finnoff explained, as reported by the Associated Press. “Based on that experience and knowing some other international federations would be following suit, figuring out how to make this a seamless process was the USOPC’s mission.”
While World Athletics, the governing body for track and field, has helped offset some of the expense for its athletes, it remains unclear whether FIS will provide similar financial support. The USOPC, for its part, is working to ensure that the process is as smooth and equitable as possible for all athletes involved, even as the logistics and costs mount.
The new FIS rule arrives at a time of heightened debate and shifting policies around gender eligibility in international sports. In July 2025, the USOPC quietly revised its own policy, effectively barring transgender women from competing in women’s events. This change aligns with President Donald Trump’s executive order, titled “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports,” which directs national governing bodies to enforce strict eligibility criteria based on biological sex. Gene Sykes, chair of the USOPC board, commented on the alignment between U.S. policy and international trends, stating, “Fortunately, the executive order that’s designed to protect women’s sports in the United States is very consistent with the trend internationally.”
“Most of the international sports federations are moving in this direction,” Sykes added, according to the Associated Press. While individual sports retain the authority to set their own policies, the global landscape is shifting rapidly toward more restrictive definitions of women’s eligibility, particularly in the wake of high-profile cases and ongoing debates about fairness and inclusion in women’s sports.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) itself is not standing on the sidelines. Its new president, Kirsty Coventry, has signaled a clear desire for the IOC to take a stronger, more unified position on gender eligibility. The IOC has formed a working group to study the issue, and Coventry has been consistent in her support of policies similar to those now in place at FIS and World Athletics. The outcome of the IOC’s deliberations could have far-reaching implications, not only for the upcoming Winter Games but for the broader future of women’s sport worldwide.
Asked whether the USOPC should play a larger role in shaping the global policy, Sykes was cautious. “Respecting the government’s decision, that’s the responsible thing to do,” he said. “We can’t pre-judge how the IOC will come down on this. But we have a responsibility to help our NGBs comply with the executive order. That’s what we’re trying to do.”
The SRY gene test has become the focal point of the controversy. Proponents argue that it is a straightforward and objective way to ensure fair competition in women’s sports, preventing individuals with a Y chromosome from gaining what they see as an unfair advantage. Critics, however, contend that such tests oversimplify the complex realities of sex and gender, risk invading athletes’ privacy, and may exclude women with rare genetic conditions or differences in sex development (DSDs) who have always identified and competed as female.
For the athletes themselves, the new rules present both practical and emotional challenges. The process of being selected for gender testing can be fraught with stress and uncertainty, especially as Olympic dreams hang in the balance. The USOPC has tried to approach the situation with sensitivity, offering logistical support and guidance, but the broader debate is unlikely to fade anytime soon.
As the testing process unfolds, the USOPC faces the daunting task of coordinating with athletes scattered across the globe, many of whom are participating in crucial qualifying events in the weeks leading up to the Olympics. The sheer scale of the effort—potentially involving hundreds of tests, multiple laboratories, and tight deadlines—underscores the logistical hurdles involved in implementing such a policy.
Meanwhile, the international sports community is watching closely. The outcome of the USOPC’s efforts, as well as the decisions of the IOC working group, could set precedents that ripple across other sports and competitions. With the Winter Olympics fast approaching, the stakes could hardly be higher for athletes, administrators, and advocates on all sides of the issue.
For now, the USOPC’s focus is on compliance and support. As Finnoff put it, the goal is to make the process as “seamless” as possible for athletes, even as the broader questions around gender, fairness, and inclusion remain unresolved. The next 100 days will be critical—not just for those hoping to compete in Italy, but for the ongoing evolution of women’s sports on the world stage.
