Nikki Hiltz recently took a jab at the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for planning a ban on transgender athletes’ participation in women’s sports. While the current rules allow transgender athletes to participate in the Games, the ban is set to come into effect after the IOC session in February, ahead of the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics.
Until now, the IOC had given individual sports federations the liberty to decide whether transgender athletes were allowed to compete. However, the IOC is now aiming to implement uniform rules for all sports and athletes.
Following the new developments, transgender athlete Nikki Hiltz—who identifies as non-binary and was assigned female at birth—criticized the decision, referring to it as “misogyny and controlling women and femininity.” Hiltz came out as transgender non-binary in March 2021. Since they have not undergone any transition surgery, they are currently allowed to compete with other female athletes. For instance, World Athletics has specific testosterone limits for participation.
Hiltz took a swipe at the new decision, stating that although it targets transgender athletes, it also affects cisgender women. They highlighted the problematic nature of policing athletes based on hormone levels:
> “Policing trans people and stripping them of their rights has never just been about trans people. It’s rooted in misogyny and controlling women and femininity. This is a direct example of how transphobia will affect cis women.”
They further questioned the criteria behind the ban:
> “‘Cis females with male levels of testosterone’—hello? What are male levels of testosterone? How are they going to determine what’s too high? Who will be targeted? At what point is a cis woman athlete too tall or too strong to compete? And also, why shouldn’t cis women with naturally elevated levels of testosterone be able to compete in the Olympics? Are cis men with naturally elevated levels of testosterone going to be able to compete?”
### Nikki Hiltz Opens Up About Embracing Their Transgender Identity
In a recent interview, Hiltz shared their journey of embracing their transgender and non-binary identity alongside their athletic career. They expressed that, although they enjoy being an athlete now, their identity as a transgender person is a lifelong part of who they are.
> “I’m just like competitive as hell,” they said. “When I get on the track, I just want to beat everyone. But I’m not always going to be an athlete. I’m always going to be trans. So it’s a really cool point in my life where I get to be both, loudly and proudly.”
Nikki Hiltz made history as the first openly trans and non-binary athlete to compete at the Olympics, representing visibility and progress in the sports world.
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*Edited by Janhavi Shinde*
https://www.sportskeeda.com/us/olympics/news-rooted-misogyny-controlling-women-nikki-hiltz-lashes-ioc-banning-transgender-athletes-competing-women-s-sports