The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has announced its new policy for the protection of the female category in Olympic sport, under which only "biological women" will be able to compete, a rule that will apply from the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games. The new IOC president, Kirsty Coventry, had already explained during the elections a year ago that she was in favor of a policy of this kind, and this Thursday she has made the regulation official, which means closing the door to trans women in the next Games.

The 2026 Milan-Cortina di Ampezo Winter Olympics are now behind us. And within the International Olympic Committee, there's a palpable sense of joy and relief at having been a resounding success. After months of worry, as it seemed some venues wouldn't be ready in time, the Italian authorities pulled it off with an event that ran almost flawlessly, boasting a fantastic atmosphere and record-breaking viewership. The weather also played a part. Just as the IOC was debating the inclusion of sports unrelated to ice and snow, aiming to transform the Winter Games into a kind of mountain competition to reduce their dependence on the weather, the Italian Alps experienced their coldest winter in twenty years. So much snow fell that the snow cannons, which had been prepared as a precaution, weren't even needed.

"Are you aware that you're the person who will command the most in world sport?" her husband recently asked Kirsty Coventry before breakfast. "I looked at him as if to say... what does he say?" Coventry explained these days. The former Olympic swimming champion is now the first woman to preside over the International Olympic Committee, following the ceremony this Monday in which German Thomas Bach handed over the reins to her. A historic milestone, given that she is the first woman to head the institution founded by Baron Pierre de Coubertin in 1894 and the first African. She is also the second youngest person to become president, at 41, behind only de Coubertin, who took office at 33.

"Since I was 20, I've had to deal with tough men who have high-profile roles," said the new president of the International Olympic Committee a few days ago. Kirsty CoventryThe former Olympic swimmer, the first woman to hold this position when she takes over this July after win the elections a few weeks ago, has already understood that her first years in office will be determined by one name: Donald Trump. The next Summer Olympics are scheduled to take place in 2028 in Los Angeles with Trump in the White House, and some states are threatening a diplomatic boycott of the event if the US president continues his misbehavior. "Communication with Trump will be key," says Coventry.