Trans Olympians Can Compete Sans Surgery

New guidelines announced Monday by the International Olympic Committee mean that transgender athletes will be able to compete in events without undergoing gender-reassignment surgery. Based on 2003 IOC guidelines, competing athletes who transitioned were until now required to have the surgery and then more than two years of hormone therapy. Female-to-male athletes will now be eligible to take part in men’s competitions “without restriction,” while male-to-female athletes will be required to demostrate a certain testosterone level for at least one year before they compete.