Second boxer who failed gender eligibility test fights on the Olympic stage today
A second boxer who was disqualified from the 2023 World Championships is due to fight at the Olympics today.
Yesterday Algerian boxer Imane Khelif fought Italy's Angela Carini and the fight was over after just 46 seconds as Carini withdrew.
She took a few punches, including to the face, and said she'd 'never been hit so hard' in her life.
That stirred up a lot of controversy as some tried to claim that Khelif was male or transgender, although the Algerian has never identified as male, transgender, or intersex.
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Algeria has a very harsh record on LGBT rights, so Khelif would have a very difficult time representing them at the Olympics if she was what she had been accused of being.
Khelif is one of two boxers who have been targeted over their disqualification from the 2023 World Championships, a decision taken by the International Boxing Association (IBA).
The other is Taiwan's Lin Yu-ting, who is due to step into the ring today (2 August) against Uzbekistan's Sitora Turdibekova in the Women's Featherweight.
In a post on her Instagram account, Lin's team thanked people for their messages and said the boxer would not be the one posting from her account during the Olympics: "Thank you everyone for your concern and support. Yu-ting will not use social media during the competition.
"The editor will do it now. Everyone’s cheers have been conveyed to Yu-ting. Get ready to cheer for Yu-ting tonight."
The IBA recently re-stated their stance on the disqualification, which prevented Khelif from competing in a gold medal match she'd reached in 2023 and stripped Lin of her bronze medal.
They said both boxers were not put through a testosterone examination but instead 'a separate and recognized test, whereby the specifics remain confidential' and claimed that the results meant the boxer were 'found to have competitive advantages over other female competitors'.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has made their own statement on the matter, pointing towards the fact that both women have been competing in boxing for years without issue before the 2023 IBA test, referencing the minutes from an IBA meeting.
They said: "We have seen in reports misleading information about two female athletes competing at the Olympic Games Paris 2024.
"The two athletes have been competing in international boxing competitions for many years in the women’s category, including the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, International Boxing Association World Championships and IBA-sanctioned tournaments.
"These two athletes were the victims of a sudden and arbitrary decision by the IBA.
"Towards the end of the IBA World Championships in 2023, they were suddenly disqualified without any due process.
"According to the IBA minutes available on their website, this decision was initially taken solely by the IBA Secretary General and CEO. The IBA Board only ratified it afterwards and only subsequently requested that a procedure to follow in similar cases in the future be established and reflected in the IBA Regulations.
"The minutes also say that the IBA should ‘establish a clear procedure on gender testing.’
"The current aggression against these two athletes is based entirely on this arbitrary decision, which was taken without any proper procedure – especially considering that these athletes had been competing in top-level competition for many years."
The Olympics have always been fine with Khelif and Lin competing, having said: "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."
Topics: Boxing, Olympics, Sport, Imane Khelif
Joe Harker