Anyone who saw the controversial women’s bout on Thursday between Italy’s Angela Carini and Algeria’s Imane Khelif, who had previously failed a gender eligibility test, will wonder how it was allowed to take place.
The bout, which was abandoned after 46 seconds, was clearly not fought on a level playing field. Khelif has the physique of a man and landed blows accordingly. Following a particularly harsh hit to Carini’s face, the Italian boxer had no choice but to throw in the towel.
“I quit to save my life,” Carini said after withdrawing. “I’ve never taken a punch like that.”
The writing was already on the wall when International Olympic Committee (IOC) confirmed Monday that two boxers who were disqualified from the world championships last year for failing gender eligibility tests would be allowed to fight in Paris: Khelif and Chinese Taipei’s Lin Yu‑ting.
Barry McGuigan, who held the WBA and lineal featherweight titles from 1985 to 1986, posted on social media: “It’s shocking that they were actually allowed to get this far, what is going on?
Following the furore over Thursday’s disastrous bout, the IOC has doubled down, claiming in a statement that it is “saddened by the abuse that the two athletes are currently receiving.”
The IOC said both athletes had been cleared to fight under the rules for the Olympic tournament. These are essentially the regulations adopted by the International Boxing Association (IBA), the former governing body for amateur boxing but one the IOC no longer recognises, for the 2016 Rio Games – these do not include language about testosterone or restrictions on gender eligibility.
IBA issued its own statement this week to explain why it had barred Khelifa and Lin last year. IBA President Umar Kremlev said at the time that the boxers had been excluded from the 2023 world championships because testing revealed that they possessed X and Y chromosomes. This would suggest they were born intersex.
According to IBA, Khelif initially appealed her disqualification last year to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), but withdrew the appeal during the process, making the decision “legally binding”. Lin did not challenge her disqualification.
Since then, however, IBA has been suspended from running the Olympic boxing tournaments, because of long-running concerns over governance and financial issues. The boxing in Paris is being organised by the IOC’s Paris 2024 Boxing Unit, which has more relaxed rules than the IBA.
“Everyone competing in the women’s category is complying with the competition eligibility rules,” said Marc Adams, the IOC President’s spokesperson. He said that both Khelif and Lin identify as females on their passports.
It is now quite clear that the rules need to be made updated so that women boxers are not put at risk.
In combat sports, the risk of serious injury and even death is high. Scientific research has found that the average punching power is 162% greater in those who have gone through male puberty compared to females. This is the biggest documented performance advantage in any sport.
According to NHS data, testosterone levels in a younger, healthy man typically range between 20 and 30, while women have a reference range of between 0.7 and 2.8.
Yet, in November 2021, the IOC threw out its policy that allowed athletes to compete on the basis of their testosterone levels, to instead place the onus on individual governing bodies.
As part of its current patchwork policy, the IOC even suggested athletes should no longer be required to reduce their testosterone levels to compete, concluding there should be no presumption that trans women have an automatic advantage.
After Thursday’s bout, that position is no longer tenable.
“What will it take to end this insanity? A female boxer left with life-altering injuries? A female boxer killed?” asked author JK Rowling on X.
The IOC may have hoped its latest statement would draw a line under the matter. But with Lin expected to face Uzbekistan’s Sitora Turdibekova in the 57kg category on Friday, this controversy is not going away anytime soon.