The International Olympic Committee on Thursday defended two boxers at the center of a gender debate that has taken the 2024 Summer Olympics by storm.
Algeria’s Imane Kherif and Taiwan’s Lin Yu-ting have come under fire after being disqualified by the International Boxing Association (IBA) for failing gender eligibility tests at the 2023 World Championships in New Delhi, India.
Controversy erupted around both boxers on Thursday after Kheriff forced Italy’s Angela Carini to withdraw just 46 seconds into the first round.
The IOC, which does not mandate a similar gender eligibility test, backed Kheriff and Lin hours later, saying they were victims of an “arbitrary decision” by the IBA executive director and CEO.
“We have seen misleading information being published about two female athletes who will compete in the 2024 Paris Olympics.” The IOC said in a statement:“Both fighters have competed in international boxing competitions over the years in the women’s category, including the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, the International Boxing Association (IBA) World Championships and other IBA-sanctioned tournaments.
“These two athletes were victims of a sudden and arbitrary decision by the IBA. They were suddenly disqualified without due process, as they approached the end of the 2023 IBA World Championships.”
The dispute highlights a long-running dispute between the IOC and the Russia-led IBA over flaws in governance and integrity.
2024 Paris Olympics
“The current attack against these two athletes is based entirely on this arbitrary decision, which was made without due process, particularly given that these two athletes have competed at the highest level of competition for many years.”
“Such an approach is antithetical to good governance.”
“Eligibility rules should not be changed while a competition is ongoing and any rule changes must follow due process and be based on scientific evidence.”
Lin’s first Olympic match in Paris will be on Friday against Shitra Turdibekova of Uzbekistan.
On Saturday, Khelib will face Anna-Luka Hamori of Hungary in the quarterfinals.
