The IOC defended its decision to allow boxers Imane Khelif of Algeria and Lin Yu-ting of Taiwan to compete in the Games despite a gender row, claiming that they are facing "aggression because of an arbitrary decision."
Khelif won his bout over Italian Angela Carini in the welterweight division in 46 seconds on Aug. 1. The following day, Lin defeated Uzbekistan's Sitora Turdibekova in the featherweight division by unanimous decision – allowing the Taiwanese to advance to the quarterfinals.
The two fighters have been under fire in the past few days over their gender identity. Both had been disqualified at the 2023 World Championships organized by the International Boxing Association (IBA). Lin and Khelif reportedly failed the IBA's eligibility rules, which bar athletes with male XY chromosomes from participating in women's events. (Related: World Athletics bans transgender athletes from competing in female category at international events.)
"The current aggression against these two athletes is based entirely on this arbitrary decision," the IOC said in a statement. "The IOC is saddened by the abuse that the two athletes are currently receiving. Every person has the right to practice sport without discrimination."
But from the looks of things, Carini is more justified to be called a victim of aggression. During the Aug. 1 competition, Khelif delivered two powerful punches to the head that hurt the Italian despite the presence of protective gear.
According to Carini, the punches from Khelif "hurt too much," adding that she has never been hit so hard. Following the 46-second bout, the Italian boxer could be heard in the ring telling her coach that "it's not right."
IBA defends decision to disqualify Khelif and Lin
The IOC, which categorizes boxers as men or women based on their passport, pointed its finger at the IBA for the vitriol being received by Khelif and Lin. According to Reuters, the IBA was stripped of its recognition by the IOC last year over governance and finance issues – leading to the IOC running the boxing events in France.
"These two athletes were the victims of a sudden and arbitrary decision by the IBA. Toward the end of the IBA World Championships in 2023, they were suddenly disqualified without any due process. According to the IBA minutes available on their website, this decision was initially taken solely by the IBA Secretary General and CEO [Chris Roberts]," said the IOC.
"The current aggression against these two athletes is based entirely on this arbitrary decision which was taken without any proper procedure – especially considering that these athletes had been competing in top-level competition for many years."
According to the IOC, the rules of eligibility were based on those of the Tokyo Olympic Games in 2021 and cannot be changed during a match.
Meanwhile, the IBA criticized "inconsistencies in eligibility" at the Paris Olympics in a statement. It also defended the decision to exclude Khelif and Lin, arguing that the two fell short of the association's eligibility requirements.
"Both Khelif and Lin post-testing did not meet the required eligibility criteria to compete within the female category of our respective events," the IBA stated. "The urgent nature of the decision [to disqualify the boxers] was justified, as the safety of our boxers is our top priority."
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Watch John O'Looney's commentary about Algeria's Imane Khelif beating Italy's Angela Carini in the 2024 Paris Olympics below.cult
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