The International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach has publicly supported boxers Imane Khelif and Lin Yu-Ting, amid a growing gender-related controversy concerning their participation in the Paris 2024 Olympics. Bach emphasized that both athletes meet the IOC's criteria for competing as women, despite ongoing disputes and scrutiny.
The debate ignited following Algeria's Khelif's swift victory over Italy's Angela Carini in a welterweight round-of-16 bout. Lin, a Vietnamese boxer, has also faced intense scrutiny. The controversy is rooted in their disqualification from the 2023 World Championships, where they were removed based on the International Boxing Association's (IBA) eligibility criteria that barred competitors with male XY chromosomes from women's events. The IBA's rules were challenged, leading to the organization being stripped of its international recognition by the IOC last year.
In a media briefing, Bach clarified the IOC's stance, stating, "Let's be very clear here. We are talking about women's boxing, and we have two boxers who are born as a woman who have been raised as a woman, who have a passport as a woman and who have competed for many years as women. And this is the clear definition of a woman. There was never any doubt about them being a woman."
Bach's comments come as the IOC faces a backlash over Khelif and Lin's eligibility. Despite the boxers' disqualification at the 2023 World Championships, they were cleared to compete in the Paris Olympics. This decision has provoked criticism and "hate speech" against the athletes. Bach condemned this behavior, stating, "What we see now is that some want to own the definition of who is a woman. And there I can only invite them to come up with a scientific based a new definition of who is a woman. And how can somebody be born, raised, compete and have a passport, as a woman cannot be considered a woman if they are coming up with something, we are ready to listen, we are ready to look into it."
The IOC president made it clear that the committee would not be drawn into "a politically motivated cultural war," highlighting his concern over the aggressive and abusive rhetoric online. He emphasized, "Allow me to say that what is going on in this context, in the social media with all this hate speech, with this aggression and abuse, and fuelled by this agenda, is totally unacceptable."
Both Khelif and Lin had competed in the Tokyo 2021 Olympics without securing medals. As they prepare for Paris 2024, the IOC's decision to back them underscores its commitment to maintaining fair competition and resisting politically charged disputes.
