Trans Women Don't Have Advantage Over Cis Women In Sports: Study

A scientific analysis, published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, has found that transgender women who have undergone hormone therapy do not show greater physical fitness than cisgender women. The paper counters a long-held belief used to justify sports bans. The researchers looked at 52 studies involving nearly 6,500 participants, including about 2,900 transgender women and 2,300 transgender men, focusing on strength and aerobic capacity.

Does Unfair Advantage exists

The study pushes back against the claim that transgender women automatically have an unfair physical advantage. However, researchers made it clear that their work did not focus on elite athletes and does not reflect every factor that shapes real-world sports performance.

Senior author Bruno Gualano, an associate professor at the University of São Paulo’s Center of Lifestyle Medicine, told Live Science that athletic performance cannot be reduced to biology alone.

“Sport is multifactorial,” Gualano explained, sharing that factors like training quality, access to facilities, mental pressure, and even discrimination can influence how an athlete performs.

These broader factors, he noted, are rarely captured in studies that look only at physical measurements.But it does argue against a blanket ban on trans women in sports competition, experts told Live Science.

Recent Studies

The study noted slightly higher lean body mass in transgender women; this did not translate into measurable advantages in key physical performance indicators. 

Researchers emphasised that sports performance is shaped by multiple factors beyond basic physical measures, including training, access to facilities, psychological stress, and discrimination, which are not fully captured in existing studies.

The findings challenge the notion that transgender women possess inherent physical advantages that would undermine fairness in women’s sports, a central argument behind many existing and proposed bans.

Based on current evidence, the authors and other experts say there is no clear scientific basis for blanket exclusions of transgender women from athletic participation. 

Sports organisations and policymakers in some countries have recently introduced rules limiting or barring transgender women’s participation, often citing concerns about physiology and past exposure to testosterone.

Olympic Policy Under Review

Recently, the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee barred transgender women from competing in women’s events, aligning with a past executive order.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has not imposed a full ban but is expected to release updated guidelines this year.

Reports suggest the IOC’s medical leadership believes some physical advantages may remain after male puberty, even with hormone therapy, and that new rules could also affect some cisgender women with naturally higher testosterone levels.

However, the recent large-scale analysis does not support the idea of clear, lasting athletic advantages after hormone therapy, according to lead researcher Bruno Gualano.

He said performance depends on many factors beyond testosterone, including long-term training and social conditions. He also noted that using strict testosterone limits to define fairness may not be scientifically straightforward.

Current IOC rules will remain in place for the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, where Sweden’s Elis Lundholm is set to compete as the first openly transgender athlete in the Winter Games.

Researchers say limited data on elite transgender athletes makes ongoing research especially important for future policy decisions.

Recent debates in international sport have also referenced cases such as Algerian boxer Imane Khelif, who faced scrutiny about eligibility rules related to sex characteristics and testing standards. 

The case highlighted how complex and sensitive these regulations can become, especially when governing bodies apply evolving criteria around biology and competition categories.

Experts say such examples show the challenges sports organisations face when balancing inclusion, scientific evidence, and competitive fairness.

For now, existing IOC rules remain in place for the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, as policymakers continue reviewing available research and data.