IOC saddened by ‘aggression’ against boxers over gender row

PARIS – The International Olympic Committee (IOC) on Aug 1 defended its decision to allow two female boxers to compete in Paris despite a gender row, saying the pair were facing “aggression” because of an arbitrary call.

Algerian Imane Khelif, who won her last-16 welterweight bout over Italian Angela Carini in 46 seconds, and two-time world champion Lin Yu-ting of Chinese Taipei have been cleared to compete in these Olympics.

Khelif’s lightning-quick win over Carini, who decided to pull out after a barrage of punches, piled more pressure on the IOC for allowing them to box.

Both fighters had been disqualified at the 2023 World Championships after failing International Boxing Association (IBA) eligibility rules that prevent athletes with male XY chromosomes from competing in women’s events.

But the IBA was stripped of its status by the IOC later in the year over governance and finance issues, with the Olympic body running the boxing competition in Paris.

The IOC said the IBA decision to disqualify the boxers was arbitrary, and the main cause for the furore that has seen famous people like British author J.K. Rowling and billionaire Elon Musk, the chairman of Tesla and X, voice their opposition to them competing.

“These two athletes were the victims of a sudden and arbitrary decision by the IBA,” the IOC said. “Towards the end of the IBA World Championships in 2023, they were suddenly disqualified without any due process.

“According to the IBA minutes on their website, this decision was initially taken solely by the IBA secretary-general and CEO.”

Some sports have limited the levels of testosterone allowed for athletes competing in women’s competition, while others ban everyone who has been through male puberty.

Differences of Sexual Disorder are a group of rare conditions involving genes, hormones and reproductive organs. Some people with DSDs – like Khelif and Lin – are raised as female but have XY sex chromosomes and blood testosterone levels in the male range.

The IOC added that the rules of eligibility were based on those applied at the Tokyo Games in 2021 and cannot be changed during a competition.

“The current aggression against these two athletes is based entirely on this arbitrary (IBA) decision, which was taken without any proper procedure – especially considering that these athletes had been competing in top-level competition for many years,” it said.

“The IOC is saddened by the abuse that the two athletes are currently receiving.”

In a statement, the IBA condemned “inconsistencies in eligibility” at the Paris Games.

“Both Imane Khelif and Lin Yu-ting did not meet the required eligibility criteria to compete within the female category of our respective events,” it added.

“The urgent nature of the decision (to disqualify the boxers) was justified.” REUTERS