IOC issues statement amid controversy around Olympic boxer Imane Khelif

Hours after an Olympic boxing match between Algeria’s Imane Khelif and Italy’s Angela Carini was forfeited by the latter just seconds into the match, the IOC issued a statement on the matter, and also sought to address vitriol being directed at Khelif and another female boxer.

Khelif had been under scrutiny in 2023 after a disqualification from the women’s world champions after IBA testing — which has been called into scrutiny, along with the reporting of the results and data —  apparently determined she had XY chromosomes, something possible in cisgender women.

And while Carini stated publicly that the reason for her withdrawal from the fight was due to her own health issues — Khelif advanced to the next round with a win — and not any concerns about Khelif not belonging in the women’s competition, plenty of other voices have chimed in crying foul on Khelif being in the women’s competition.

The IOC addressed the concerns in a lengthy statement on Thursday.

“Every person has the right to practise sport without discrimination,” the statement began. “All athletes participating in the boxing tournament of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 comply with the competition’s eligibility and entry regulations, as well as all applicable medical regulations set by the Paris 2024 Boxing Unit (PBU) … . As with previous Olympic boxing competitions, the gender and age of the athletes are based on their passport.”

The IOC statement also addressed Khelif’s disqualification at the 2023 championships and why that doesn’t preclude her from competing in the 2024 Paris Olympics.

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.

IOC statement on boxing qualifications

And the IOC closed the message with a plea to adopt a more uniform standard across boxing federations ahead of the next summer Olympics, set for Los Angeles in 2028.

“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.

More on the Khelif-Carini match that ended early

Carini’s decision to withdraw from the match was not “a political statement” or “refusing to fight Khelif.” Instead, Carini described an intense pain in her nose after the opening blows in the boxing match, a pain intense enough to cause her to quit.

Carini also demurred on the question of whether Khelif should be allowed to fight.

“I am not here to judge or pass judgment,” Carini said. “If an athlete is this way, and in that sense it’s not right or it is right, it’s not up to me to decide. I just did my job as a boxer. I got into the ring and fought. I did it with my head held high and with a broken heart for not having finished the last kilometer.”

Khelif did not speak to reporters after the bout.

According to the Associated Press, Imane Khelif is one of two athletes in the Paris Olympic Games under scrutiny over gender testing. Writes the organization:

Khelif and Lin Yu‑ting of Taiwan suddenly have received massive scrutiny for their presence in Paris after years of amateur competition. Lin won IBA world championships in 2018 and 2022, but the governing body stripped her of a bronze medal last year because it claimed she failed to meet unspecified eligibility requirements in a biochemical test.

Lin begins her Paris run Friday, fighting Uzbekistan’s Sitora Turdibekova in her opening bout after receiving a first-round bye.

The Algerian Olympic Committee issued a statement Wednesday condemning what it termed “lies” and “unethical targeting and maligning of our esteemed athlete, Imane Khelif, with baseless propaganda from certain foreign media outlets.”