USOPC Preparing SRY Tests for Women Winter Athletes

The U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee is preparing to use SRY genetic tests and is coordinating labs and logistics ahead of the Winter Olympics after the FIS rule required SRY testing for women’s skiing and snowboarding. USOPC chief medical officer Jonathan Finnoff said SRY tests are uncommon in the United States, vowed to make testing “seamless,” and noted the roughly $250-per-test cost that could result in hundreds of tests as athletes qualify. In July the USOPC revised its eligibility policy to align with President Trump’s “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports” executive order, a move the White House praised. USOPC president Sarah Hirshland declined to state her personal view and emphasized that individual sports governing bodies set eligibility rules. World Athletics and World Boxing already use SRY testing, and the International Olympic Committee has formed a working group that has signaled support for similar approaches amid ongoing debate over implementation.