2. Are Khelif and Lin males?
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That is the center of the controversy.
Umar Kremlev, a Russian and the president of the Worldwide Boxing Affiliation (IBA), was reported in Russian media final 12 months as saying “DNA testing” had proven Khelif and Lin “have XY chromosomes” — that’s, male chromosomes.
Each Khelif and Lin have been stripped of their wins on the 2023 IBA Ladies’s World Boxing Championships. (Khelif had superior to the gold medal match however was pulled from the match earlier than preventing in that spherical; Lin was stripped of a bronze medal.)
The IBA later launched an announcement stating, “The athletes didn’t endure a testosterone examination however have been topic to a separate and acknowledged take a look at, whereby the specifics stay confidential.”
The Worldwide Olympic Committee, although, says each boxers are feminine. The IOC launched an announcement final week saying: “As with earlier Olympic boxing competitions, the gender and age of the athletes are primarily based on their passport.”
“We have now seen in studies deceptive details about two feminine athletes competing on the Olympic Video games Paris 2024,” the IOC stated. “The 2 athletes have been competing in worldwide boxing competitions for a few years within the girls’s class, together with the Olympic Video games Tokyo 2020, Worldwide Boxing Affiliation (IBA) World Championships and IBA-sanctioned tournaments.”
The IOC added, “These two athletes have been the victims of a sudden and arbitrary determination by the IBA. In the direction of the tip of the IBA World Championships in 2023, they have been instantly disqualified with none due course of.”
There isn’t a file of both boxer ever competing as a male.
The IBA beforehand oversaw boxing within the Olympics. Nevertheless, attributable to numerous points associated to governance, monetary administration, and judging integrity, the IOC suspended the IBA’s recognition in 2019 and ultimately determined to chop ties utterly in 2023. The IOC took over the administration of boxing for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics (held in 2021) and continued to take action for the Paris 2024 Video games. In the meantime, about three dozen nations have left IBA to type a brand new group, World Boxing, in hopes of conserving boxing within the Olympics in 2028.
“We have now two boxers who’re born as a lady, who’ve been raised a lady, who’ve a passport as a lady, and who’ve competed for a few years as girls,” stated IOC President Thomas Bach.”
And that is the clear definition of a lady. There was by no means any doubt about them being a lady.”
Some observers have speculated that Khelif and Lin could possibly be DSD (Variations in Intercourse Growth), whereby they might have feminine genitalia however male chromosomes. That, although, is merely conjecture.
In the meantime, Khelif’s father presented a delivery certificates to media members in latest days exhibiting she was born feminine.
“Imane is slightly woman that has liked sport since she was six years outdated; she used to play soccer,” Amar Khelif stated. “These critics and rumors purpose to destabilize Imane; they don’t need her to be the champion of the world.”
Different observers dismiss Kremlev’s claims and Russian media altogether, noting that Russia has a historical past of doping scandals and systematic dishonest in sports activities, which undermines the credibility of their claims. Russia, for instance, was banned from the Olympics of 2018, 2020, and 2022 because of the fallout of a doping scandal. (Days previous to Khelif’s disqualification, she had defeated a beforehand unbeaten Russian boxer; her disqualification meant that the Russian boxer was undefeated as soon as once more.)
Kremlev, although, stands by his declare.
“I don’t perceive why they kill girls’s boxing,” he stated of the IOC. “Solely eligible athletes ought to compete within the ring for the sake of security.”
On Monday, the IBA held a news conference the place IBA Chief Government Chris Roberts stated the group couldn’t launch the take a look at outcomes however that the general public may “learn between the traces.”
“The outcomes of the chromosome assessments demonstrated each boxers have been ineligible,” Roberts stated.
Picture Credit score: ©Getty Photographs/Richard Pelham/Stringer
