RILEY GAINES: Olympics finally picks biology over ideology to save women’s sports.

The International Olympic Committee finally did what so many of us have been demanding for years: it drew a clear, unambiguous line in the sand to protect women’s sports. Under its first-ever female president, Kirsty Coventry, the IOC announced a new eligibility policy that limits competition in the female category at the Olympics, Youth Olympics and all IOC-sanctioned events to females only. Novel concept, right? In today’s world, it is.

Starting with the 2028 Los Angeles Games, this will be verified through a simple, one-time SRY gene screening — a cheek swab, saliva sample, or blood draw — to confirm the absence of the male sex-determining gene. Chromosomes don’t lie. No more gray areas. No more pretending biology is optional.

This is a giant leap forward for women’s sports. They’ve done the right thing with a strong, clear policy. No equivocation, no tap-dancing, no pretense of “balancing priorities.” And they’ve backed it up with an objective, verifiable means of enforcement. Those responsible this time around deserve real congratulations.

We’re finally developing immunity to the social contagion.