The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has announced that two boxers, previously disqualified from last year’s World Championships due to failing gender eligibility tests, are now eligible to compete at the Paris Olympics. The boxers in question are Imane Khelif of Algeria and Lin Yu-ting of Taiwan. Both athletes were disqualified from the women’s World Championships in New Delhi last year, hours before Khelif’s gold medal bout and after Yu-ting had secured a bronze medal. They were deemed ineligible by the International Boxing Association (IBA), which organized the championships.
IBA president Umar Kremlev stated at the time that the boxers had “XY chromosomes.” It’s important to note that the IBA is no longer recognized as a federation by the IOC. The boxing competition at the Paris Olympics will be organized by the Paris Boxing Unit (PBU), an ad-hoc unit established by the IOC’s Executive Board.
The IOC has clarified that all athletes participating in the boxing tournament at the Paris 2024 Olympics must adhere to the competition’s eligibility and entry regulations, along with all applicable medical regulations. This statement from the IOC emphasizes the PBU’s commitment to ensuring consistency between Olympic Games, minimizing any impact on athletes’ preparations.
Khelif is scheduled to face Angela Carini in a welterweight bout on Thursday, while Yu-ting will take on either Marcelat Sakobi or Sitora Turdibekova in the featherweight division on Friday. The inclusion of these two boxers in the Paris Olympics raises questions regarding the evolving landscape of gender eligibility standards in international sports.
