Outrage Erupts as 2 Boxers Cleared to Compete as Women at Paris Olympics Games — After Disqualification For Failing Gender Eligibility Tests
July 30 2024, Published 2:42 p.m. ET
Despite being disqualified from the 2023 world championships for failing gender eligibility tests, the International Olympic Committee has allowed two boxers to compete at the Paris Games as women, RadarOnline.com can reveal
Imane Khelif from Algeria and Taiwan’s Lin Yu-ting were both disqualified at the women’s World Championships last year in New Dheli. Khelif’s disqualification came just hours before she was about to step into the ring for her gold medal bout, and Yu-ting lost her bronze medal at the same competition.
In deciding to disqualify them, Umar Kremlev, president of the International Boxing Association (IBA) said that following “a series of DNA tests,” the IBA allegedly “uncovered athletes who were trying to fool their colleagues and pretend to be women” – sparking outrage from sports fans online.
In allowing the two to compete at the Olympics, the IOC issued the following statement: “All athletes participating in the boxing tournament of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 comply with the competition's eligibility and entry regulations, as well as all applicable medical regulations in accordance with rules 1.4 and 3.1 of the Paris 2024 Boxing Unit.”
According to Reuters, the boxing competition was organized by the PBU, which is an ad-hoc unit established by the IOC's Executive Board.
The IOC statement added: “The PBU endeavored to restrict amendments to minimize the impact on athletes’ preparation and guaranteeing consistency between Olympic Games.”
IOC Spokesman Mark Adams said in a video address: “They are women in their passports and it’s stated that is the case.”
People clapped back at Adams on X. One user stated: “I can’t believe the IOC’s spokesman uses the same ridiculous justifications we always hear, namely everyone has one kind of physical advantage or another, and it’s ‘incredibly complex.’ No, it’s not complex, Mr Adams. And while every human is different, we separate sports by SEX.”
In addition, after Khelif was disqualified last year, Brianda Tamara posted on X about her experience fighting Khelif, saying:
'When I fought with her I felt very out of my depth, Her blows hurt me a lot. I don't think I had ever felt like that in my 13 years as a boxer, nor in my sparring with men. Thank God that day I got out of the ring safely, and it's good that they finally realized.”
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Khelif will go up against Italy’s Angela Carini in a welterweight bout on Thursday, and Yu-ting will fight either Marcelat Sakobi or Sitora Turdibekova in the featherweight division on Friday.
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