US bans trans women from competing in women's sports at Olympics
The US Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) changed its eligibility rules on Monday to exclude transgender women from women's events, to comply with an executive order signed by Donald Trump.
Governing bodies of American sports federations will now have to follow suit, The New York Times reported.
The USOPC said on Tuesday it had 'an obligation to comply with federal expectations' and that it had engaged in a 'series of respectful and constructive conversations with federal officials' following Mr Trump's executive order.
USA Fencing has now adopted a new policy, which comes into effect on Aug 1, that states trans women and non-binary athletes will only be allowed to compete in the men's category.
In February, Mr Trump announced his administration would strip federal funding from programmes that required women to compete against biological men in sports, depriving them of 'fair athletic opportunities'.
'In recent years, many educational institutions and athletic associations have allowed men to compete in women's sports,' the executive order reads.
'This is demeaning, unfair, and dangerous to women and girls, and denies women and girls the equal opportunity to participate and excel in competitive sports.'
A series of female athletes have come forward in recent years to protest against having the choice between competing against biological men or being forced to give up their sport altogether.
In May, fencer Stephanie Turner testified before the House of Representatives' Doge subcommittee that she had been forced out of 'the sport I love' by a 'culture of intimidation' towards women.
'I should not have had to make this sacrifice. Women deserve to be treated fairly in sport,' she said.
'We deserve opportunities to train, compete and win in a women's category set aside for women. We deserve this at the lowest levels of sport all the way through elite Olympic competition.'
At the same hearing, Damien Lehfeldt, the chairman of USA Fencing, defended his organisation's stance, saying it could not ban transgender participation without a change in policy by bodies that regulate the sport, such as the USOPC.
Payton McNabb, a college volleyball player, had her career cut short when a transgender player hit a ball in her face so hard it left her with a brain injury and partial paralysis.
Ms McNabb has said she is owed an apology by Joe Biden, Mr Trump's Democrat predecessor, telling The Telegraph: 'With the last administration I feel like we were begging and pleading for someone to listen to us.'
Democrats have 'proven over and again that they don't think women are important enough to fight for on this issue', she added.
In March, California governor Gavin Newsom broke ranks with many in his party when he said it was 'deeply unfair' to allow biological men to compete in women's sports.
Mr Newsom, who has has long been considered a trailblazer on LGBTQ rights, said on his podcast: 'I think it's an issue of fairness… it's deeply unfair. We've got to own that. We've got to acknowledge it.'
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