The International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS) has approved a gene testing policy to determine gender eligibility in women’s events while postponing a decision regarding allowing certain Russian athletes to compete under neutral status at the upcoming Winter Olympics. FIS announced that it will collaborate with national team officials to implement the policy, aligning with the approach taken by track and field’s World Athletics.
The eligibility criteria outlined in the policy are based on the presence or absence of the SRY gene, which is the sex-determining gene found on the Y chromosome in humans. The extent to which athletes with the SRY gene have previously participated in women’s events across FIS disciplines, including alpine and cross-country skiing, ski jumping, snowboarding, and freestyle skiing, remains unclear.
FIS President Johan Eliasch and World Athletics leader Sebastian Coe, who both ran in the International Olympic Committee election this year, pledged to safeguard the integrity of women’s sports. Eliasch emphasized the importance of relying on scientific and biological facts to uphold the fairness and transparency of women’s sport.
Kirsty Coventry of Zimbabwe, a two-time Olympic champion swimmer and the first female president of the IOC, has established a panel of experts to address gender issues in sports. Notably, France and Norway face challenges due to national laws prohibiting gene testing for non-medical purposes, impacting athletes in these winter sports-dominant countries.
Regarding Russian and Belarusian athletes, FIS imposed a ban on their participation in international competitions following the military invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The council deliberated on extending the ban or implementing a neutral status policy for individual athletes ahead of the upcoming Olympics but did not make a final decision. The IOC has restricted Russia and Belarus from team sports at both the Summer and Winter Games, advising sports governing bodies to consider granting neutral status to athletes not associated with the war or military and state security services. The FIS ruling council will convene again on October 21 for further discussions.