Summarised by Centrist
Imane Khelif of Algeria and Lin Yu-Ting of Taiwan, previously banned from the World Championships for being deemed biologically male, have been cleared to compete in the Paris Olympics as women.
A video from December 2022 shows Khelif delivering heavy punches to Mexican opponent Brianda Tamara. Tamara later shared her harrowing experience, noting the unparalleled force of Khelif’s blows, which left her feeling overpowered and in pain, unlike any previous match in her 13-year boxing career.
Outraged athletes and fans argue that their inclusion undermines the integrity of women’s boxing and raises questions about fairness in competitive sports.
The controversy began when Khelif and Yu-Ting were disqualified from the Women’s World Boxing Championships in New Delhi in March 2023. DNA tests revealed both athletes had ‘XY chromosomes,’ prompting their disqualification.
Umar Kremlev, president of the International Boxing Association (IBA), claimed the athletes had tried to deceive their peers by pretending to be women.
Despite these findings, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has cleared both boxers to compete in the Olympics, stating they meet current eligibility criteria. This decision comes after the IBA was stripped of its authority to oversee Olympic boxing due to governance concerns, leading to more relaxed IOC regulations.
Editor’s note: Italian boxer Angela Carini quit her Olympic bout against Khelif after just 46 seconds. Carini took a hard punch to the face early in the bout. Afterwards, a tearful Carini explained her decision to quit, saying, “I felt a severe pain in my nose, and with the maturity of a boxer, I said ‘enough,’ because I didn’t want to, I couldn’t finish the match. I am heartbroken. I was told a lot of times that I was a warrior, but I preferred to stop for my health. I have never felt a punch like this. After the second blow to the nose, I couldn’t breathe anymore. I went to my coach and said ‘enough’. It could have been the match of a lifetime, but I had to preserve my life as well in that moment.”
She also added, “I am not here to judge or pass judgement. If an athlete is this way, and in that sense, it’s not right or it is right, it’s not up to me to decide. I just did my job as a boxer. I got into the ring and fought. I did it with my head held high and with a broken heart for not having finished the last kilometre.”
