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The International Olympic Committee has defended its decision to allow two boxers who failed a gender eligibility test to compete at Paris 2024.
Algeria’s Imane Khelif was disqualified hours before her gold-medal bout at the women’s World Championships in New Delhi last year after she failed to meet the International Boxing Association’s (IBA) eligibility criteria, which prevent athletes with male XY chromosomes competing in women’s events. Taiwan’s double world champion Lin Yu-ting lost her bronze medal at the same competition, after she too failed to meet the criteria.
But the IBA was stripped of its recognition by the IOC last year over governance and finance issues, with the Olympic body running the boxing competition in Paris itself, and it allowed both women to participate.
Khelif landed a heavy punch on her opponent, Italy’s Angela Carini, in their bout on Thursday, forcing Carini to quit after only 46 seconds. After Khelif’s hand was raised to signal her victory, Carini dropped to her knees in tears.
Carini could also be heard telling her coach, “It’s not right, it’s not right!” before promptly leaving the arena. Carini suffered a suspected broken nose, and the 25-year-old told reporters that she had never been punched so hard in her career.
Lin is due to compete at the Olympics on Friday.
The manner of Carini’s defeat prompted concern and anger both in the boxing world and beyond, with author JK Rowling and billionaire Elon Musk voicing their opposition to the duo competing in the Games. But the IOC said the pair were facing “aggression” because of an “arbitrary decision” by the IBA.
“Towards the end of the IBA World Championships in 2023, they were suddenly disqualified without any due process,” the IOC said. “According to the IBA minutes available 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 in sex development are a group of rare conditions involving genes, hormones and reproductive organs. Some people with DSDs are raised as female but have XY sex chromosomes and blood testosterone levels in the male range.
The IOC said the rules of eligibility were based on those of 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 decision, which was taken without any proper procedure, especially considering that these athletes had been competing in top-level competition for many years.
“The IOC is saddened by the abuse that the two athletes are currently receiving,” it added. “Every person has the right to practice sport without discrimination.”
In a statement, the IBA condemned “inconsistencies in eligibility” at the Paris Games.
“Both Imane Khelif and Lin Yu-ting post testing, did not meet the required eligibility criteria to compete within the female category of our respective events,” the body added.
“The urgent nature of the decision (to disqualify the boxers) was justified, as the safety of our boxers is our top priority.”
Additional reporting by Reuters
