Female boxers who previously failed gender tests, return to compete in women's events at Paris Olympics 2024

Two women boxers competing in the Paris Olympics were previously disqualified from the women's world championships in March 2023 for failing to meet the International Boxing Association's eligibility criteria. At the time of disqualification. one of the athletes had won the bronze medal while the other was set to fight for the gold medal.

International Boxing Association (IBA) president Umar Kremlev had claimed that the athletes in question, Algeria's Imane Khelif, and Taiwan's Lin Yu-Ting, were "pretending to be women." He also claimed that a 'series of DNA tests' proved them to have 'XY chromosomes,' which resulted in their disqualification from women's sports.

However, Khelif is expected to compete against Italy's Angela Carini in the 66 kg weight class on Aug. 1. Meanwhile, Yu-Ting will compete in the 57 kg weight class. She will fight the winner of a last-32 bout on Aug. 2.

@BoxingKingdom14 took to X and summarized the controversy in a descriptive post:

"Two female boxers at the Olympics were previously disqualified from an official boxing event in 2023 for having “XY chromosomes”, during a DNA test. Reports suggest these two fighters could be pretending to be women. The fighters teams have claimed medical & conspiracy reasons, for the results. Both fighters are in seperate bouts scheduled for the 1st of August, in Paris."

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Imane Khelif was forced to pull out of the fight, Lin Yu-Ting was stripped of the medal

At the 2023 women's world championships, in New Delhi, India, Imane Khelif made it to the 66 kg finals and was expected to fight China's Yang Li for the gold medal. Hours before the bout, she was disqualified from the fight for failing to meet IBA's eligibility criteria. Thailand's Gangaim Suwanaveng replaced her in the finals.

IBA's statement clarified:

"The IBA upholds its rules and regulations as well as its athletes' personal and medical privacy, the eligibility criteria breach, therefore, cannot be shared by the IBA." [H/T reuters.com]

Despite the disqualification, the Algerian Olympic Committee said that it would support Khelif and help her prepare for the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Meanwhile, Lin Yu-Ting, who won the bronze medal in the 57 kg weight class at the tournament, lost the medal for failing to meet IBA's eligibility criteria. Bulgaria's Svetlana Kamenova Staneva, who lost to Yu-Ting in the final, was given the bronze medal.

At the moment, the exact reasons for both athletes' disqualification in 2023 are unknown since the tests' results were not made public.