IOC: Female boxers were victims of arbitrary decision by International Boxing Association

PARIS – The International Olympic Committee (IOC) says two female boxers at the center of controversy over gender eligibility criteria were victims of a “sudden and arbitrary decision" by the International Boxing Association (IBA) in 2023.

Algerian boxer Imane Khelif and Lin Yu-ting of Taiwan both were disqualified from the 2023 women’s boxing world championships after the IBA claimed they had failed "gender eligibility tests." The IBA, which sanctions the world championships, made the announcement after Khelif and Lin won medals at the event in March 2023.

The IBA, long plagued with scandal and controversy, oversaw Olympics boxing before the IOC stripped it of the right before the Tokyo Games in 2021. Although the IBA has maintained control of the world championships, the IOC no longer recognizes the IBA as the international federation for boxing.

Citing minutes on the IBA’s website, the IOC said Thursday, “The current aggression against these two athletes is based entirely on this arbitrary decision, which was taken without any proper procedures – especially considering that these athletes had been competing in top level competition for many years."

The issue resurfaced this week when the IOC said both Khelif and Lin were eligible to compete at the Paris Olympics, and a furor erupted on social media Thursday after Khelif won her opening bout against Italy’s Angela Carini. Khelif landed one punch – on Carini’s nose – before the Italian boxer quit just 46 seconds into the welterweight bout at 146 pounds. Lin is scheduled to fight in her opening bout Friday.

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With the likes of Jake Paul and J.K. Rowling expressing outrage over Khelif competing against other women, the IOC issued a statement later Thursday addressing the matter.

“The IOC is committed to protecting the human rights of all athletes participating in the Olympic Games," the organization said in a statement issued on social media. "… The IOC is saddened by the abuse that these two athletes are currently receiving."

The IOC said the gender and age of an athlete are based on their passports and that the current Olympic competition eligibility and entry regulations were in place during Olympic qualifying events in 2023. Both Lin and Khelif competed in the 2021 Tokyo Games and did not medal.

The IOC pointed to the IBA’s secretary general and CEO, Chris Roberts, as being responsible for disqualifying Khelif and Lin after they had won medals in 2023. Khelif won bronze, Lin gold before the IBA took them away.

Khelif, 25, made her amateur debut in 2018 at the Balkan Women's Tournament, according to BoxRec. She is 37-9 and has recorded five knockouts, according to BoxRec, and won a silver medal at the 2022 world championships.

Lin, 28, made her amateur debut in 2013 at the AIBA World Women's Youth Championships, according to BoxRec. She is 40-14 and has recorded one knockout, according to BoxRec, and won gold medals at the world championships in 2018 and 2022.

On Thursday, the IBA issued a statement saying the disqualification was "based on two trustworthy tests conducted on both athletes in two independent laboratories.''