Australian Boxer Featherweight champion Skye Nicholson has defended the two boxers at the centre of the debate over men’s and women’s eligibility for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Nicholson said, 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Following revelations that Algeria’s Imane Kherif and Taiwan’s Lin Yu-ting had been disqualified from the 2023 International Boxing Association (IBA) Women’s World Championships after testing positive for an “XY chromosome,” a comment made by President Omar Kremlev during the 2024 Paris Olympics, he took to social media to address the situation surrounding both athletes.
Algeria’s Imane Kherif and Italy’s Angela Carini react after the match. (Reuters/Isabel Infantes)
In a series of videos posted to his Instagram Stories on Friday, Nicholson said both boxers he fought were portrayed unfairly in the media.
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“I’ve actually fought and sparred with two girls who were born female. They were born with XY chromosomes, which are male chromosomes, but they were born with female bodies. They have female physical characteristics,” she said.
“They have grown up as girls, as women, as ladies. They have always competed as women. They were born male and did not call themselves women or identify as women to compete against women in the Olympics. So when the IBA decided to do chromosome testing at the World Championships, it transpired that these two athletes have XY chromosomes. It was not a testosterone test. It was not that they failed any such test. It was not a physical test. They do not have the physical characteristics of a man.
“It’s a bit of a grey area, but I think the misuse of the media and influence and people just jumping on the bandwagon without knowing all the details is pretty terrible, to be honest.”
Taiwan’s Lin Yuting celebrates after defeating Kazakhstan’s Karina Ibragimova in the women’s 54-57kg boxing final at the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games in Hangzhou, east China’s Zhejiang province, on Oct 5, 2023. (Ishara S. Kodikara/AFP via Getty Images)
IOC president denounces investigation into two Olympic boxers who failed gender tests as ‘hate speech’
The IBA claims that both Kherif and Lin have a competitive advantage that prevents them from competing against women, but Nicholson argues that if that were the case, Kherif and Lin would be the winners in any match.
“If they were men and it was dangerous for women to compete against them, they would win gold medals in every event. But they’re not. They’ve both lost to women so many times, that I think says it all.”
“These girls have represented their country so many times as female fighters over the years and they should not be treated so badly,” she added. “I think it’s very unfortunate that they even find themselves in this situation and are subject to this level of scrutiny.”
Skye Nicholson will compete in a WBC Interim World Featherweight Title bout against Lucy Wildheart on November 25, 2023 at the 3Arena Dublin in Dublin, Ireland. (James Chance/Getty Images)
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has defended its stance on allowing two boxers to take part in the 2024 Paris Olympics, with president Thomas Bach reiterating on Saturday that there was “no doubt” about the pair’s gender.
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“We will not take part in a politically motivated culture war,” Bach said. “The hate speech, attacks and abuse that are happening on social media and being fuelled by this agenda is completely unacceptable.”
“This DSD case is about women taking part in women’s competitions, and I think I have explained this many times,” Bach said in his speech.
The IOC later clarified that he meant “it is not a transgender issue.”
Fox News’ Ryan Gaydas contributed to this report.
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