The conflicting regimes of two rival boxing administrations have demeaned both women who fought a bout that ended prematurely as well as creating confusion about gender-eligibility in the Olympic ring.
The vexed issue erupted in Paris when Italian boxer Angela Carini suffered two blows to the head and a broken nose and withdrew from her bout with Algerian Imane Khelif after just 46 seconds. Carini subsequently refused to shake her opponent’s hand and said she had thrown in the towel because she “couldn’t breathe” and “had to safeguard my life”.
Algeria’s Imane Khelif, right, after defeating Italy’s Angela Carini, left, in their women’s 66kg preliminary boxing match.Credit: AP
Perhaps it was always going to come to this. The Herald’s Michael Chammas reported that the press box at North Paris Arena was packed with reporters eager to see how the controversial bout would play out. Khelif’s participation guaranteed media attention as the 25-year-old was disqualified from the International Boxing Association’s World Championship last year after testing deemed her ineligible for the women’s competition. Another boxer competing at Paris, Lin Yu-Ting of Chinese Taipei, was disqualified in the same manner.
The problem is the since-sidelined IBA and the Olympic International Committee have little common ground on gender-eligibility. The clash between administration cultures became manifest when Carini repeatedly yelled to her corner, “Non e giusto, non e giusto” (“It’s not fair, it’s not fair”).
The IBA – which was stripped of its recognition as the global body for the sport last year by the IOC, due to its historic failure to complete reforms on governance, finance and ethical issues – acknowledges key differences in a combat sport where asking women to fight men is unfair, dangerous and subjects boxers to random and targeted gender tests. For its part, the IOC took over control of boxing and opted to allow other sports and their governing bodies to determine the criteria of gender-eligibility. As a result, swimming, athletics and cycling developed their own gender policies that veto athletes who have gone through puberty as men competing as women.
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The IOC stood up for Khelif and Lin Yu-Ting, saying Olympians in the women’s competition complied with eligibility and entry regulations and all applicable medical regulations set by the Paris 2024 Boxing Unit.
“The two athletes have been competing in international boxing competitions for many years in the women’s category, including the Olympic Games in Tokyo in 2020, International Boxing Association (IBA) World Championships, and IBA-sanctioned tournaments,” an IOC statement said. “These two athletes were the victims of a sudden and arbitrary decision by the IBA … The current aggression against these two athletes is based entirely on this arbitrary decision, which was taken without any proper procedure – especially considering these athletes had been competing in top-level competition for many years. Such an approach is contrary to good governance.”
Admirable words. But the IOC has a lower threshold of gender-eligibility than the IBA and should have foreseen the potential that such a dichotomy could cause in Paris. Instead, it did little, and the issue has boiled over, leaving everybody shaking their heads and bewildered.
