Thousands of athletes are currently competing at the Paris Olympics, including 248 boxers across different categories. However, so far, the boxing competition has been plagued by controversy regarding two women.
On Thursday, Aug. 1, Algerian boxer Imane Khelif, aged 25, started her preliminaries in Women’s 66kg (146 pounds) boxing, with her opponent the Italian Angela Carini. The fight took place in a packed North Paris Arena, one of the main venues at the 2024 Olympics. It only lasted 46 seconds, as Carini abandoned the bout after getting punched in the nose.
On paper, it looks like an uncontroversial fight, where one opponent backed off due to potential damage or exhaustion. However, some critics used last year’s claims from the IBA (Russian-led International Boxing Association) and denounced the competition by saying Khelif is a transgender woman. They also started attacking Taiwan’s Lin Yu-ting, who’s about to make her debut in Paris on Friday, Aug. 2.
Who are Imane Khelif and Lin Yu-ting?
Imane Khelif is a 25-year-old boxer from Algeria who’ has been’s been competing in professional boxing tournaments since 2018. In 2022, she claimed a silver medal at the World Championships in Istanbul. Lin Yu-ting also has a rich history in boxing, winning gold medals at the 2018 World Championships in New Delhi and the 2022 World Championships in Istanbul. Both women also participated in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, which took place in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Neither Khelif nor Lin are transgender, however, after a controversial decision by the IBA made during the 2023 World Championships, these false claims are being used to criticize both women and the IOC (International Olympic Committee) for having them compete in Paris.
What are the claims made against Khelif and Lin?
During the 2023 Boxing World Championships, which IBA organized in New Delhi, both Khelif and Lin were ultimately disqualified. Khelif reached the competition’s final but was forbidden from starting shortly before the fight began for failing to meet the eligibility criteria. It was later reported she had too high testosterone levels, with IBA president Umar Kremlev telling the Russian news agency Tass (via Guardian) afterward, that she was tested and proven to have XY chromosomes in her system.
Lin also won a bronze medal in that same tournament. However, she was also stripped of it by IBA, since she also failed gender eligibility tests.
Women typically have XX chromosome pairs, while men have XY. Khelif and Lin have never identified as men, transgender, or intersex (people with both male and female sex characteristics) and, despite the reports, the Russian organization has not released any evidence that Khelif has XY chromosomes.
What does the IOC say and how does this impact Khelif and Lin at the 2024 Paris Olympics?
The IOC has different medical standards. The two organizations parted ways in 2019 when the IOC stripped the IBA of its Olympic status amid concerns about the latter’s management, integrity, and finances. When entering the 2024 Paris Olympics, competitors had to undergo the IOC’s medical tests. Both Khelif and Lin passed these and were allowed to compete.
However, despite both women participating in the Olympics fair and square, the controversy didn’t stop and Thursday’s fight between Khelif and Carini was the catalyst. After the fight ended, the Italian Olympian refused to shake hands with her Algerian opponent and cried in the ring before leaving. However, she said she wasn’t trying to make a political statement.
“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 didn’t want to, I couldn’t finish the match,” Carini said, according to NBC New York. However according to USA Today’s translations, Carini and Renzini (her coach) were reportedly told not to take the fight, which took a toll on Carini’s mental well-being before the fight.
However, other officials and former sportsmen reignited the discussion about Khelif and Lin’s involvement at the 2024 Olympics, including Italian government officials.
“I find it difficult to understand that there is no alignment in the parameters of minimum hormonal values at an international level, which includes the European and world championships and the Olympics,” Sports Minister of Italy, Andrea Abodi, said, according to Time. J.K. Rowling also decided to get involved, outright calling Khelif a man:
The IOC has confirmed once more both athletes are eligible to compete at the 2024 Paris Olympics and cast doubt on the legitimacy of the Russian IBA’s findings. The controversy is bound to spark even more discussions in social media with both Khelif and Lin still competing in the French capital.
The Algerian athlete is scheduled to fight Hungarian Anna Luca Hamori on Saturday, Aug. 3. Lin Yu-ting will face Uzbekistani Sitora Turdibekowa in Women’s 57kg preliminaries on Friday, Aug. 2 at 8:30 am CT.