The International Olympic Committee has announced that transgender athletes will be barred from competing in women’s events starting with the 2028 Summer Olympics.

Athletes will need to undergo a mandatory gene test to determine their biological sex. This test will be performed before an athlete’s Olympic debut.

“At the Olympic Games, even the smallest margins can be the difference between victory and defeat,” Kirsty Coventry, IOC president, said. “So, it is absolutely clear that it would not be fair for biological males to compete in the female category.”

Originally, it was left to the sports committee to decide on the eligibility of transgender athletes. Track and field, swimming and cycling had all barred transgender women from competing in women’s leagues and events.

The IOC did research into the impact of testosterone on men’s strength. Their research concluded that testosterone spikes in the uterus and infancy put men at an advantage in strength, power and endurance. This is a change from previous views held by the IOC, which said that men only gain these advantages through puberty. 

The United States will be hosting the 2028 Summer Olympics. In February, President Donald Trump signed an executive order nicknamed “Keeping Men out of Women’s Sports.” This order threatened to cut funding for any organizations that allowed transgender women to compete in women’s leagues. It also allowed the Department of Homeland Security to deny visas to transgender athletes. 

Trump has been active in the sports world since his inauguration in January 2025. He was the first president since President George W. Bush to go to an MLB game, he met with the president of FIFA, who said he deserved a Nobel Prize and he plans to host the first UFC event at the White House later this year. 

The 2028 Summer Olympics will start on July 14, 2028. 

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass avoided questions about Olympic Committee Chair Casey Wasserman after his name appeared in the Jeffrey Epstein files.

On Jan. 30, 3.5 million documents related to the Epstein trafficking ring were released by the Department of Justice to the general public. Wasserman was shown to have “flirty” exchanges with Ghislaine Maxwell, who was a close associate to Epstein. Wasserman was married to Laura Ziffren at the time of these emails. 

>100 SECRET PHOTOS FROM JEFFREY EPSTEIN’S FILES – SLIDESHOW

Bass promised a statement “shortly,” but refused to comment to reporters. Numerous city officials have called for Wasserman to resign or be relieved of his duties as Olympic Committee Chair. 

Wasserman is not accused of participating in or knowing of Epstein’s sex-trafficking ring.  

Wasserman was appointed by Mayor Eric Garcetti in 2014 to head L.A.’s bid to host the Olympics. After the successful campaign to get the 2028 Summer Olympics, he was named Olympic Committee Chair.  

Along with Wasserman, Bass, Gov. Gavin Newsom, Sens. Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff and Reps. Pete Aguilar (D-California) and Norma Torres (D-California) also helped push for L.A.’s bid. 

If Wasserman were to be replaced, Stephanie Wiggins and Janice Hahn are other prominent figures in L.A.’s Olympic preparation. Wiggins is the CEO of the local Transportation Authority, while Hahn is a member of the Board of Supervisors.

However, there’s no indication that Wasserman will be replaced. The 2028 Summer Olympics are scheduled to start July 14, 2028. Team USA won 40 gold medals during the 2024 Summer Olympics. Team USA men’s basketball took home the gold medal, along with gymnast Simone Biles winning six gold medals. Biles has not ruled out competing in the 2028 Summer Olympics. 

The medals for the 2024 Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games were unveiled Thursday. Designed by a jeweler, Chaumet, for the first time, all 5,084 medals will be encrusted with original iron from the Eiffel Tower.

“By placing fragments of the Eiffel Tower at the center of its medals, Paris 2024 hopes to leave athletes with an unforgettable memory of the Games, of Paris and of France,” officials from Paris 2024 said in a statement.

Every piece of the Eiffel Tower included will be hexagonal and weigh 18 grams. The designers reportedly sought to give these discarded pieces of the Eiffel Tower, completed in 1889, a “second lease of life” in the form of medals. Each piece of iron will feature the Paris 2024 logo.

“We came to Chaumet with a crazy idea,” Joachim Roncin, Director of Design at Paris 2024, said, according to Forbes. “Why not include a little of the Eiffel Tower in the medals? The Chaumet team rose to the challenge and we are all very proud of the result.”

Chaumet is owned and operated under the Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy luxury brand and typically designs watches and jewelry. The company is based in the Place Vendome in Paris.

Event organizers unveiled the medals nearly six months ahead of the Olympic Games, which will begin on July 26. The Paralympics begin on August 28. The Eiffel Tower is expected to be a prominent motif in this year’s Olympic Games. Several events, including beach volleyball in the Olympics and blind soccer in the Paralympics, will be held beside the 135-year-old structure.

Paris last hosted the Olympic Games in 1924, exactly 100 years ago. The city also hosted in 1900, which means that it will soon join London as one of just two cities to host the Olympics three times. The European pair will eventually be joined by Los Angeles in 2028. As a host nation on six different occasions, France only trails the United States, which has hosted nine games since 1904.

Jessica Springsteen, the daughter of rocker Bruce Springsteen, won a silver medal with the U.S. equestrian jumping team at the Tokyo Olympics on Saturday, falling behind Sweden in a jump-off.

Springsteen earlier failed to qualify for the Olympic individual jumping finals.

Springsteen, 29, came out strong on the 14 jump course before her horse became hesitant around the 11th obstacle and was penalized four points for knocking down a rail. The error put Springsteen on the bubble for one of the 30 qualifying spots, she was informed of her elimination just an hour after her ride.

“All in all, I’m thrilled with the round, and I’m excited for the rest of the week,” Springsteen said.

Springsteen is riding a 12-year-old horse, Don Juan van de Donkhoeve. The duo was ranked 14th in the world coming into the Tokyo Olympics.

The equestrian events in the Olympics are often overlooked, but this year Springsteen has created quite a bit of publicity. Japanese fans of her father, Bruce Springsteen, have been seen gathering outside of stadiums she competes in to cheer her on.

The rider has done her best to focus on competition and denied many one-on-one interviews. When she does decide to answer questions, the public relations staff screens the questions to assure there is no discussion of family. Springsteen is locked in and will only discuss her Olympic competition.

German cycling coach Patrick Moster was sent home from the Tokyo Olympics after a racist comment during the men’s road time trial.

Moster was heard shouting a derogatory slur targeting Middle Eastern people towards German cyclist Nikias Arndt during the time trial event.

The head of the German Olympic Sports Confederation confirmed that Moster would “no longer perform his duties as part of the cycling team.” The decision to send Moster home was reported to DOSB’s website within a day of the incident.

Moster apologized for his remarks after the incident. He claimed he was not racist and the incident was due to “the heat of the moment.”

Nonetheless, DOSB President and the Tokyo delegation leader Alfons Hormann saw a violation of Olympic Values.

Hormann said, “We remain convinced that his public apology for the racist remarks he made yesterday is sincere. With this derailment, however, Mr. Moster violated the Olympic values. Fair play, respect and tolerance are non-negotiable for Team Germany.”

Japan secured their second straight Olympic gold medal in softball with a 2-0 victory over Team USA. This historic win is a repeat of 2008 when Japan left the USA heartbroken in the gold medal game.

Japan’s Yukiko Ueno pitched a no-hitter into the sixth inning, which is even more impressive as she had turned 39 years old just five days prior.

The USA seemed to be rallying in the sixth inning until an incredible double play was turned by Japan to halt the momentum.

Japan had a 2-0 lead when Michelle Moultrie singled to lead off the sixth inning. Another single by Janie Reed saw the U.S. with two runners on base and just one out. Amanda Chichester then belted a line drive at Japanese third baseman Yu Yamatmoto where it bounced off her wrist perfectly to shortstop Mana Atsumi who turned an unlikely double play.

As if the sixth inning was not already filled with enough excitement, Reed made an outstanding play to rob Yamato Fujita of a two-run homer in the bottom half of the inning.

Ueno reentered the game for Japan in the seventh inning. She retired Team USA in order and closed out the game for Japan with a 2-0 win.

Ueno improved her Olympic record to 9-1. She recorded five strikeouts and allowed just two hits.

The Americans allowed their first runs of the six games played in the tournament and failed to bring anyone across the plate themselves.

Although the USA wore uniforms starkly different than the uniforms they were in their 2008 title loss to Japan, the result did not differ as Japan claimed their second Olympic gold.

Australia’s Ariarne Titmus out-swam United States star Katie Ledecky in the 400-meter freestyle to win the gold medal. Titmus finished with the second-fastest time in history. 

Titmus’ coach, Dean Boxall, made major headlines alongside the swimmer due to his sideline antics. As Titmus overcame a body length gap behind Ledecky and took the lead late in the race, Boxall could not contain his excitement. He could be seen on his perch above the pool punching the air, ripping his mark off, kicking and thrusting the barrier.

A young girl volunteering appeared to attempt to calm Boxall, yet the coach was not phased. 

Boxall’s excitement turned to tears as Titmus collected her gold medal on the podium. “I could see Dean on the other side bawling his eyes out,” said Titmus to the Agence France-Presse. 

“I don’t feel the hype, it’s more you guys. I just try to race the best I can and ignore everything else,” added Titmus. “I honestly thought I’d be more nervous coming into this but Dean said to me, ‘Look, you know how to swim, this is just a big swimming race, you just have to do what you know how to do.'”

Boxall’s antics made headlines and were a major talking point on social media. A Morning Herald reporter, Vince Rugari, stated: “I’d never heard of him before but pretty confident he’ll now never have to buy himself a beer ever again. How good #Tokyo2020.”

Simone Biles has withdrawn from the Women’s Gymnastics Team Final taking place on Tuesday, July 27.

USA Gymnastics released the following statement. “Simone Biles has withdrawn from the team final competition due to a medical issue. She will be assessed daily to determine medical clearance for future competitions.” Biles was last seen leaving the floor with the team trainer before the announcement was made.

As the United States chased their third straight gold medal, Biles left the floor before returning minutes later in warm-ups and unprepared to continue competing. However, Biles was seen hugging and passionately supporting her teammates.

Biles competed in the opening rotation in the vault, where the performance did not go as planned and points were deducted after she struggled to land a Yurchenko 1.5 twist. The dismount catapulted Biles forward on her landing which saw the U.S. fall behind Russia in points.

Biles was expected to compete in the uneven bars during the second rotation but was replaced by Jordan Chiles. 

The Russian Olympic Committee outscored the United States in qualifying, making the ROC the first team to beat the U.S. in a major international competition in 11 years. The U.S. team seemed to lack the ability to compete with the ROC without the incredible performances from Biles.

Despite the historic loss for the U.S., Biles was proud of her teammates. “I think tonight they get a gold medal from me in fighting cause they never gave up and they just showed the world what they’re capable of,” she said.

Updates to Biles’ situation and the reason behind pulling out of the competition are contrary to the USA Gymnastics’ original statement. Biles was struggling to cope with the stress of competing at the Tokyo Olympic Games.

“After the performance that I did, I didn’t want to go into any of the other events second guessing myself, so I thought it was better if I took a step back and let these girls go out there and do the job and they did just that,” Biles said.

Biles continued her discussion about the difficulties of competing at the highest level. “Therapy has helped a lot as well as medicine. That’s all been going really well. Whenever you get in high-stress situations, you kind of freak out and don’t know really know how to handle all of those emotions especially at the Olympic Games.”

Luka Doncic made his Olympic debut at the age of 22 years old versus Argentina. The Olympic rookie still managed to drop 48 points. Argentina’s coach spoke of Doncic’s brilliance. “For me, I said this two years ago: He is the best player in the world, including the NBA. And if there was any doubt in my mind, there is no doubt anymore. He is the best player in the world,” the Argentinian said.

In the first half of the game, Doncic scored 31 points, putting him on pace to break the Olympic record of 55 points in a game set by Oscar Schmidt in 1988. Doncic stayed in for much of the second half but with such a comfortable lead, the Slovenian took on a lesser role as his team increased the scoring margin. Doncic checked out of the game with plenty of time left on the clock, clearly indicating that he was not interested in breaking the record. 

“I don’t care about records,” he said. “We got a win and that’s what we came here for.”

“Everybody was telling him on the bench, ‘OK, let’s get the record,'” said Zoran Dragic, a Slovenian teammate. “But that’s not the case. The case is to win the game. He knows that, and it’s crazy that he’s only 22 years old.”

Slovenia, who did not earn a spot in the Olympics until earlier in July, is now a medal contender due to the presence of Doncic.

Doncic played his usual style consisting of incredible step-back jumpers, threes from the logo and a remarkable ability to attack and finish at the rim. Argentina legend Manu Ginobli was impressed by the performance and referred to Doncic as a “beast” and said he had “tremendous mastery of the game.”

The Slovenian side has been a team on the rise, earning their Olympic spot by winning an Olympic qualifying tournament. Slovenia topped Lithuania in the final with the help of Doncic, who began playing for his country immediately after the Mavericks’ NBA postseason elimination.

Led by Evan Fournier‘s 28 points, France gives the U.S. their first Olympic loss in almost 20 years. 

After the final whistle, France hardly celebrated. Does France’s lack of reaction show that the USA is no longer a feared team? France ended a 25-game Olympic winning streak for the USA. Closing the game with a 16-2 run, France was able to defeat the U.S. 83-76. 

Fournier spoke after the game, “They are better individually, but they can be beaten as a team.”

In the last two years, the USA has been defeated regularly. Since France beat them in the Basketball World Cup Quarterfinals two years ago, the USA has been just 3-5 in their last games with NBA players included on the roster. Notably losing to Australia and Nigeria in their Olympic tune-up matches.

USA coach Gregg Popovich said, “I think that’s a little bit of hubris if you think the Americans are supposed to just roll out the balls and win. We’ve got to work for it just like everybody else. And for those 40 minutes, they played better than we did.” 

In the 144 Olympic Games all-time for the USA, this was just their sixth loss. Since the 1992 “Dream Team,” the USA has one gold at every Olympics other than 2004 where a bronze medal was earned. This team still can win gold at the 2020 games, but there is no guarantee with the recent state of play. 

“Evan was amazing. I don’t want to use big, big, big words, but he made some very big shots,” said French coach Vincent Collet. 

The USA’s loss does not eliminate them for gold contention but does make the path much more difficult, essentially eliminating room for error. They must win their next two group games versus Iran and the Czech Republic to move onto the quarterfinals. 

USA forward Draymond Green stated, “We have to defend better down the stretch and close games out.”

The USA looks to improve upon this last performance in their must-win game versus Iran on Wednesday. 

Allyson Felix made her fifth Olympic team, and first as a mother, on Sunday following a dramatic second-place finish in the 400-meter race at the United States Olympic track and field trials in Eugene, Oregon.

Felix, who is a 13-time World Champion is back after her first pregnancy. Felix gave birth to her daughter, Camryn, via emergency C-section at 32 weeks in 2018. Camryn spent a month in a neonatal Intensive Care Unit. Felix has spoken openly about the difficulties in her recovery and return to training. It was a difficult journey to come back, something that she had doubts about.

“Man. It has been a fight to get here,” Felix said in an interview on NBC. “And one thing I know how to do is fight.”

On Sunday, she performed well enough to secure herself second place and clinch her fifth trip to the Summer Olympics, and her first as a mother. Quanera Hayes, who is also a mom, won the women’s 400 with a time of 49.78. Felix finished second with a time of 50.02 seconds and Wadeline Jonathas came in third, one-hundredth of a second behind Felix.

The 35-year-old mother will compete individually in Tokyo in the 400-meter race, and she will likely also be part of at least one relay team, either the women’s 4×400 or the mixed-gender 4×400, which is a new event in 2021. The Olympian is also scheduled to run the 200-meter dash at trials next week.

The 35-year-old made her debut in 2004 and has since become one of the most decorated athletes in the history of the sport. She has won nine Olympic medals, including six golds throughout her career. Felix has spoken about her plans to retire before the next Summer Games, which take place in Paris in 2024. The Tokyo Games will be all that much more meaningful since it will be her final Olympic Games. She hopes that her performances will be an inspiration not just to moms, who are athletes, but to all moms who are returning to their jobs after giving birth.

“I think society tells us a lot of times you have a child, and your best moments are behind you. But that’s absolutely not the case,” Felix said. “I’m a representation of that. Quanera is. There’s so many women across industries who are out there, who are doing it and getting it done. And I hope that when they watch and they see me, that they see that it’s possible. And without a doubt, we’re going to keep fighting.”