New Olympics chief calls for 'protecting' women's category amid global trans athlete wave

Riley Gaines appeared on OutKick's 'Hot Mic' on Thursday and blasted the IOC over its statement on the Olympic boxing controversy.

The new president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Kirsty Coventry, addressed the topic of transgender athletes competing in women's sports at her first official news conference since taking over on Thursday, and said that there is "overwhelming support" by IOC members to protect the female category. 

"We understand that there'll be differences depending on the sport … but it was very clear from the members that we have to protect the female category, first and foremost to ensure fairness," Coventry said. 

"But we need to do that with a scientific approach and the inclusion of the international federations who have already done a lot of work in this area."

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Kirsty Coventry laughs during a press conference after she was elected as the new IOC President at the International Olympic Committee's 144th session in Costa Navarino, western Greece, Thursday, March 20, 2025.  (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)

The new president added that there is "unanimous" support for coming to an agreement about how to amend the policy, and suggested the IOC may take inspiration from the World Athletics policy, which restricts biological males from competing in women's sports if those males have gone through male puberty. 

"It was very clear from the membership the discussion around this has to be done with medical and scientific research at the core, so we are looking at the facts and the nuances and the inclusion of the international federations that have done so much of this work … having a seat at table and sharing with us because every sport is