THE International Olympic Committee have released a statement declaring they are ‘saddened by the abuse’ that Imane Khelif and Lin Yu-ting have received since their inclusion at the Paris Games.
Khelif became global news on Thursday when her Italian opponent Angela Carini quit after 46 seconds of their bout after only a handful of scoring blows. She later said she felt a severe pain in her nose and was struggling to breathe.
The inclusion of Khelif and Taiwan’s Yu-ting has come under intense scrutiny after reports claimed they had both failed an unspecified gender eligibility test because they had male chromosomes.
Both were disqualified from last year’s world amateur championships, an IBA competition, after failing to meet the eligibility criteria with regards to gender. However the IOC, who stripped IBA of their Olympic status last year, branded that decision as ‘sudden and arbitrary’ and cleared both boxers to compete in Paris.
A spokesman said: “These athletes have competed many times before for many years, they haven’t just suddenly arrived – they competed in Tokyo.”
And on Thursday evening, following the backlash in the wake of Khelif’s stoppage victory, the IOC released a lengthy statement in a bid to address the ‘misleading information’ regarding the situation.
It read: “We have seen in reports misleading information about two female athletes competing at the Olympic Games Paris 2024. The two athletes have been competing in international boxing competitions for many years in the women’s category, including the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, International Boxing Association (IBA) World Championships and IBA-sanctioned tournaments.
“These two athletes were the victims of a sudden and arbitrary decision by the IBA. Towards the end of the IBA World Championships in 2023, they were suddenly disqualified without any due process. According to the IBA minutes available on their website, this decision was initially taken solely by the IBA Secretary General and CEO. The IBA Board only ratified it afterwards and only subsequently requested that a procedure to follow in similar cases in the future be established and reflected in the IBA Regulations. The minutes also say that the IBA should “establish a clear procedure on gender testing”.
“The current aggression against these two athletes is based entirely on this arbitrary decision, which was taken without any proper procedure – especially considering that these athletes had been competing in top-level competition for many years. Such an approach is contrary to good governance.
“Eligibility rules should not be changed during ongoing competition, and any rule change must follow appropriate processes and should be based on scientific evidence.
“The IOC is committed to protecting the human rights of all athletes participating in the Olympic Games as per the Olympic Charter, the IOC Code of Ethics and the IOC Strategic Framework on Human Rights. The IOC is saddened by the abuse that the two athletes are currently receiving.
“The IBA’s recognition was withdrawn by the IOC in 2023 following its suspension in 2019. The withdrawal of recognition was confirmed by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). See the IOC’s statement following the ruling.
“The IOC has made it clear that it needs National Boxing Federations to reach a consensus around a new International Federation in order for boxing to be included on the sports programme of the Olympic Games LA28.”