‘Women’s category must be only women’: Doctor defends IBA bans at farcical press conference

The International Boxing Association (IBA) claimed during a farcical press conference in Paris on Tuesday morning (AEST) that two independent sex chromosome tests prompted the disqualification of two women from the 2023 World Championships.

The IBA warned “people could die” as it addressed an angry media mob in the centre of Paris about its decision to ban Imane Khelif and Chinese Taipei boxer Lin Yu-ting over failed gender-eligibility tests – a decision that has not been upheld by the International Olympic Committee.

Both boxers have progressed through to the semi-finals of their respective female boxing weight divisions and have received the backing of the IOC, which described the IBA’s testing and procedural methodology as “flawed” and “illegitimate”.

That prompted IBA bosses to call a press conference on Monday afternoon – which started 90 minutes later than scheduled and descended into chaos amid technical errors, language barriers and raised tempers – to try to shed light on the situation surrounding the two fighters.

“We are witnessing their failure and the corruption of women’s boxing,” said Umar Kremlev, the Russian IBA president, via video link after questioning the IOC’s decision to allow the two fighters to compete.

“This is happening with Mr Bach [IOC president Thomas Bach] present. I say this without aggression. It is very sad to see. We have to stand for our athletes and we need to avoid this type of situation. This is destroying the sport.”

From left: Lin Yu-ting, Imane Khelif and Angela Carini.Credit: Stephen Kiprillis

The IBA provided a timeline for the events that have transpired to provide clarity around a situation that has clouded the boxing tournament at the Paris Olympics following Italian Angela Carini’s withdrawal after just 46 seconds in her bout against Khelif last week.

The IBA revealed that:

• Four boxers were tested during the 2022 World Championships in Istanbul (May 8-20) following concerns raised by rival fighters, coaches and medical staff, disputing the gender of the athletes based on their appearance and performance.
• The boxers (including Khelif and Lin) were asked to provide blood samples on May 17 in tests conducted by an independent laboratory (Sistem Tip) in Istanbul.
• On May 24 – after Khelif had already claimed silver in the women’s 60-63kg category and Lin had won gold in the women’s 54-57kg category – the laboratory issued its findings to the IBA.
• On legal advice, the IBA did not disqualify or revoke the prize money of the two boxers. However, another independent test was recommended to ensure the results were conclusive.

In the 10 months that passed between the 2022 championships in Istanbul and the following year’s world title fights in New Delhi in 2023, Khelif and Lin did not fight in IBA-organised tournaments.

The IBA decided it was too difficult to organise independent medical examinations in their respective countries and waited until they arrived in India to conduct another assessment.

An emotional Imane Khelif after her victory against Anna Luca Hamori.Credit: Getty Images

The IBA’s version of events is as follows:

• On March 17, the day before Khelif’s first fight in the tournament, both she and Lin were asked to undergo blood tests that were performed by another independent unit, Dr Lal Path Labs in New Delhi.
• Six days later, on March 23, Dr Lal Path Labs gave the IBA its findings.
• The next day, on March 24, the then IBA secretary general and CEO George Yerolimpos informed both Khelif and Lin that they did not meet the eligibility criteria. The boxers were given a copy of their tests and were given the opportunity to appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) within 21 days.
• Both continued to participate in the tournament until March 26, when the IBA board voted to ratify Yerolimpos’ decision to disqualify the pair. By that stage, Lin had already won bronze. The decision to disqualify Khelif came on the same day she was meant to fight for gold against China’s Yang Liu. She wasn’t allowed to fight.

“They have high levels of testosterone, like a man,” said Dr Ioannis Filippatos, an obstetrician and gynaecologist of 30 years who also serves as the president of the European Boxing Confederation.

“They have men’s level of testosterone. We don’t know if they were born a man – we don’t have anything to confirm [that].

“The only thing we can do is protect the athletes. The women’s category must be only women. If you don’t agree, start another category – mixed category.”

Algerian boxer Imane Khelif leaves after an interview with SNTV at the 2024 Summer Olympics.Credit: AP

“Everybody can do what they want in their bed and at home, but this is sport. There’s only two categories, women’s sport and men’s sport. Don’t say we don’t know what exactly is a woman. Please. It’s not possible to say we don’t know. If you don’t know, ask the doctor, but then let the doctor speak.”

There has been no suggestion that either boxer was born male.

Fighting back the tears after her quarter-final win over Hungarian Luca Anna Hamori on Saturday in Paris, Khelif told reporters: “I want to tell the entire world that I am a female, and I will remain a female.”

Before the bout, IOC president Bach told a press conference there were no issues with Khelif and Lin competing against women.

“Let’s be very clear here, we are talking about women’s boxing, and we have two boxers born as women, have been raised as women, who have passports as women and competed for many years as women,” Bach said.

The situation in New Delhi was the first time the IBA had to enforce its gender-eligibility policy and vote to disqualify a boxer based on chromosome tests.

Sources with knowledge of the situation, speaking under the condition of anonymity due to confidentiality agreements, said that in 2016, a South-East Asian female boxer was given a sex chromosome test. The boxer, after being informed of her results by the IBA, never returned to compete again.

It wasn’t until after the situation arose with Khelif and Lin in New Delhi that the IBA amended its rules to include sex chromosome testing in its criteria for gender eligibility.

Imane Khelif after defeating Hungary’s Anna Hamori in their women’s 66kg quarter-final boxing match.Credit: AP

However, endocrinologists say sex is not as simple as males having XY chromosomes and females XX, and that people can be born with different biological arrangements.

“Humans aren’t black and white; they’re not just male and female,” said associate professor Ada Cheung, an endocrinologist at the University of Melbourne. “There are many ways to be intersex.”

Several journalists at Le Salon des Miroirs in Paris were infuriated at the IBA’s explanation as to why there was a 10-month gap between the tests, leaving Filippatos to defend the governing body’s actions.

“Why do you attack me?” he said to one of the angry reporters.

“I’m trying to say the medical results from the laboratory say this boxer is man. We’re trying now to find out why it happened like that. We’re not against Khelif. Our problem is that we have two blood exams with chromosomes of a man. This is not my answer, it’s the answer from the laboratory.

“These abnormalities, we need to collaborate with a doctor. I was not in the hospital when she was born. The problem is not with Khelif – she is one very good and talented boxer – but as a doctor I need to protect the women’s category in sport.”

Eligibility on Gender Rule from the IBA

• Boxers will compete against boxers of the same gender, meaning women versus women and men versus men as per the definition of these rules.
• To determine the gender, the boxers can be submitted to a random and/or targeted gender test that will be conducted by the IBA in co-operation with the selected laboratory personnel.
• In case of an adverse result, the boxer will be immediately notified by IBA.
• In case of an adverse result, the boxer will be disqualified from such competition with immediate effect and will be prevented from competing in further IBA-owned and sanctioned competitions of that gender. For this purpose, IBA will share such information with the relevant internal bodies respecting its confidentiality.

Research undertaken by the IBA stated that it was dangerous to allow DSD (differences in sex development) athletes to compete against other women.

The policy was based on research conducted by the IBA that determined females produced up to 108 watts of power in their punch compared to 282 watts of power in males.

The IBA decided that because men generated 162 per cent more power in their punches, it was unsafe for XY-chromosome athletes to compete in the female category.

“When there is an unfair advantage, people could die,” IBA coaches committee chair Gabriele Martelli said.

While Lin did not appeal the IBA’s decision, Khelif challenged the ruling through CAS in April 2023. The IBA paid what it claimed was its fair share of procedural costs.

Media representatives from around the world gather for the IBA press conference in Paris.Credit: SMH

Three months later, CAS issued a termination order because Khelif could not fund the costs of the matter. Khelif then provided her own medical documentation after sourcing independent testing to try and clear her name and return to competition under the IBA banner.

It wasn’t until April this year, following examination from the IBA medical committee, that the matter was concluded.

Khelif was notified about the IBA findings four months ago. She was told that the results gave her an unfair competitive advantage and deemed it unsafe for her to fight against female opponents. The IOC disregarded the IBA’s advice.

“Contrary to what was discussed at the weekend, the IOC has received this information,” IBA secretary-general and chief executive Chris Roberts said. “While the IOC have had the information, they haven’t done anything.”

Tension between the two bodies has been at an all-time high after the IOC removed the IBA as the official organisers of the Paris Games last year for failing to address governance problems and corruption within its sport.

Sign up for our Sports Newsletter to get Olympic Games updates and general sport news, results and expert analysis straight to your inbox