Olympic boxing controversy sparks fierce debate over inclusivity in women’s sports

A Summer Olympics that hoped to champion inclusivity — choosing “Games Wide Open” as its slogan — has become embroiled in loud, angry debates over who should and should not be allowed to compete as a woman.

The dispute has triggered conflicting official statements, pointed comments and unhinged social media posts, all whirling around two athletes in the women’s boxing competition at Arena Paris Nord.

Imane Khelif of Algeria and Lin Yu Ting of Taiwan have been allowed to box here despite being disqualified at last year’s world championships for failing unspecified gender-eligibility tests.

“I think we all have a responsibility to dial down this and not turn it into some kind of witch hunt,” Olympic spokesman Mark Adams told reporters earlier this week. “These are regular athletes who have competed for many years in boxing, they are entirely eligible and they are women on their passports.”

His plea was soon overshadowed by a Thursday afternoon bout in which Khelif punched an opponent hard enough to make her quit after 46 seconds. The Paris Games was immediately lumped together with previous disagreements over South African runner Caster Semenya and U.S. collegiate swimmer Lia Thomas.

This case is even more incendiary because it isn’t about someone crossing the finish line first or swimming faster, it is about the potential for people getting hurt. Angela Carini, the Italian boxer who was bloodied by Khelif, put it this way: “I had to safeguard my life.”

Experts wonder if the sports world has reached an inflection point.

“We really have not come up with a consensus on how we define sex,” said Jaime Schultz, author of a new book titled “Regulating Bodies: Elite Sport Policies and Their Unintended Consequences.” “People have to learn how to talk about this.”

Over the last 24 hours, much of the public discourse has inaccurately cited Khelif and Lin in arguments that transgender athletes such as Thomas — excluded at these Games — be banned from women’s sport.

Neither of the Olympic boxers is transgender. Nor does it seem X and Y chromosomes are relevant.

Though officials have remained purposefully vague, Khelif and Lin appear to have been identified as athletes with “differences of sexual development,” a designation that applies to women who are androgen-sensitive or have naturally occurring testosterone levels in the male range.

The international track federation used this standard to demand that 800-meter star Semenya either take medication to alter her body chemistry or race against men. She fought the decision, losing in the Federal Supreme Court of Switzerland.

Sports have a long and troubled history with gender testing.

Early on, female athletes were forced to disrobe for a physical examination. Chromosome tests came into fashion for a while but were successfully challenged by Spanish runner Maria Jose Martinez-Patino in the 1980s because they could not account for rare conditions.

Though testosterone is now a common measure, there is continued disagreement over its validity.

“These criteria keep folding under the weight of closer scrutiny,” said Schultz, who is also a kinesiology professor at Penn State. “None of them have held up over time.”

Taiwan’s Lin Yu Ting, left, battles Kazakhstan’s Karina Ibragimova during a women’s 54-57 kilogram boxing final at the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, last year.

(Vincent Thian / Associated Press)

Veterans on the amateur scene, Khelif finished fifth in the 60 kilogram event and Lin finished ninth at 57 kilograms in the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. The Algerian won silver at the International Boxing Assn.’s 2022 world championships. The Taiwanese athlete earned gold at that tournament in 2018 and 2022.

But last year, the IBA took action against both women.

Khelif was disqualified shortly before her gold-medal bout and Lin after her bronze-medal victory. The IBA stated the boxers did not “undergo a testosterone examination but were subject to a separate and recognized test, whereby the specifics remain confidential.”

The situation grew more complicated when the International Olympic Committee suspended its recognition of the IBA after years of dispute between the organizations. With the IOC temporarily in control of boxing at the Games, Khelif and Lin have had their eligibility restored.

It came as no surprise when Khelif’s bout on Thursday prompted dueling responses.

First the IBA condemned Olympic officials for letting Khelif and Lin compete, stating: “We absolutely do not understand why any organization would put a boxer at risk with what could bring a potential serious injury.”

The IOC fired back by saying: “Every person has the right to practice sport without discrimination.” It further noted the IBA disqualifications were “based entirely on this arbitrary decision, which was taken without any proper procedure.”

Italy’s Angela Carini, left, cries after her loss to Algeria’s Imane Khelif at the Paris Olympics on Thursday.

(John Locher / Associated Press)

The vitriol figures to expand following Lin’s victory over Sitora Turdibekova of Uzbekistan in a Round of 16 bout Friday afternoon. Khelif will box next against Anna Luca Hamori of Hungary in the quarterfinals Saturday.

Hours before Lin’s fight Friday, Adams responded to questions about gender issues at the Games by saying: “There is still neither scientific nor political consensus on this issue. It’s not a black and white issue. And we at the IOC would be very interested to hear of such a solution, such a consensus on this, and we would be the first to act on this should a common understanding be reached.”

By then, the Hungarian Boxing Assn. had already announced it will protest Khelif’s participation. Hamori did not seem as concerned. “I am not scared,” the boxer said. “If she or he is a man, it will be a bigger victory for me if I win. So let’s do it.”

Though Carini fell to her knees and cried after losing to Khelif, she was similarly magnanimous when speaking with reporters. Her comments reflected the complexity of the issue.

“I am not in the position of saying this is right or wrong,” she said. “I did my job as a boxer, entering the ring and fighting.”