The words of IOC president Thomas Bach hailing the equal participation of women at these Paris Olympics now ring particularly hollow.
All of the Olympics’ good work has been undone with two key moments this week, both so gobsmacking to compare to one of the infamous sporting moments of the past century: the shock that Canadian sprinter Ben Johnson failed a drug test after his 100m victory at the 1988 Seoul Olympics. While Johnson’ downfall was sudden and dramatic, the IOC’s cavalier attitudes about women, distinct from the slick PR messaging, has been building for some time.
First up was the failure of the IOC to tell the Dutch national Olympic committee it was inappropriate to select beach volleyballer Steve van de Verde, who spent time in jail for raping a 12-year-old girl three times. Redemption under the Eiffel Tower, dressed with the Olympic rings, as the IOC says? No, just no.
But that disregard for women – prioritising the Dutchman’s security concerns over any distress his victim may be suffering – was topped by the boxing events at the North Paris Arena this week.
IOC spokesman Mark Adams loftily dismissed safety concerns expressed by female boxers about having two “intersex” boxers with male XY chromosomes competing in the women’s competition. He accused critics of stigmatising athletes and conducting a witch-hunt. He even told the media to “dial it down’’.
If the Olympic powerbrokers had spoken to the female boxers, instead of rubbing shoulders with celebrities, they would have learned of their nightmares. The women have felt the blows of the XY boxers and say they are so powered by testosterone that they worry about getting out of the ring alive. On Thursday in her first Olympic bout, Italian boxer Angela Carini was smashed and surrendered just 46 seconds against Imane Khelif, an Algerian who has twice been removed from women’s competitions for failing a bio-chemical sex test.
Laughably the IOC says their passports say they are women, so all is OK. But it is not.
Memo to Mr Bach: Women deserve so much more than some glib “parity” messaging. Listening to them is a start.
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