IOC president Thomas Bach said on Saturday that “hate speech” against boxers Imane Khelif and Lin Yuting at the Paris Olympics was “totally unacceptable.”
“We will not take part in politically motivated culture wars,” Bach said at a news conference.
Algeria’s Khelif and Taiwan’s Lin have faced days of global scrutiny over their gender, with both being disqualified from the 2023 world championships.
The Russia-led International Boxing Association, which was banned from the Olympics by the IOC after years of controversy, barred its boxers from the world championships in India 16 months ago over gender-based tests that are still unspecified and unproven.
“We have two boxers who were born female, raised female, have female passports and have competed as female for many years,” Bach said. “Some people want to define for themselves who is a woman.”
Both Kheriff and Lin competed in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics but failed to win medals.
