Algerian boxer Imane Khelif’s participation at the Paris 2024 Olympics is “not a transgender issue”, a spokesperson for the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has said. Khelif beat Italy’s Angela Carini on Thursday (1 August), in a fight that has reignited an online storm about her participation in the Games, despite the fact she has been confirmed as eligible to enter the women’s boxing event.
The welterweight bout lasted just 46 seconds, with the Italian boxer saying she was forced to concede defeat. “I am heartbroken,” Carina said, reports The Guardian. “Regardless of the person I had in front of me, which doesn’t interest me, regardless of all the row, I just wanted to win.”
Khelif previously competed at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. She and fellow boxer Lin Yu-ting were disqualified from last year’s World Championships after failing to meet eligibility criteria.
Lin, who represents Taiwan, was stripped of third place at last year’s World Championships after failing a gender eligibility test. Khelif was disqualified in New Delhi for failing a testosterone level test, following information from the IOC.
Further details on why the pair were disqualified from the World Championships were not given at the time. IOC spokesman Mark Adams addressed the controversy again on Thursday (1 August), reiterating that Khelif and Lin both comply with Olympic eligibility rules and clarifying that their participation had nothing to do with trans issues.
“I repeat, all the competitors comply with the eligibility rules”, Adams stated (via The Guardian). “But what I would say is that this involves real people.”
He added: “And, by the way, this is not a transgender issue. I should make this absolutely clear.” Khelif told the BBC after her latest victory: “I am here for gold. I will fight anybody, I will fight them all.” The IOC previously said that “all athletes participating in the boxing tournament of the Olympic Games comply with the competitions eligibility and entry regulations as well as all applicable medical regulations”.
In response to claims about Khelif, the Algerian Olympic Committee said it “strongly condemns** the unethical targeting and maligning” of their boxer**, calling the attacks on her “deeply unfair”.
Featherweight Lin is set to take on Sitora Turdibekova on Friday (2 August).
According to Wikipedia Khelif is natal woman with DSD making her having high testosterone levels. Not much detail is given about fellow boxer Lin_Yu-ting also cleared to fight in the Olympics after being stripped of a medal for gender issues before. It seems she competed in women’s tournaments throughout her life.
So this makes this another Caster Semenya case with a notable difference, the amount of anti-trans propaganda coverage the IOC boxers’ issue has received is objectively more troubling even compared to Fallon Fox’s MMA matches.
Please have this in mind and debunk whoever claims that this is a trans issue. Point out that their definition of woman leaves actual women out of it, unless they are the Marjorie Taylor Greene type.
terfs more upset about this then the fact that a literal paedo and rapist is competing and receiving zero blowback. maybe the anti trans nonsense has been about misogyny and hating women all along.
that a literal paedo and rapist is competing
I haven’t heard of this. Who is it?
Edit: Found it very quickly, I can’t believe I haven’t heard more people talk about this.
Van de Velde, who is now 29, was sentenced to four years in prison in 2016 after pleading guilty to raping the girl in Milton Keynes. He had flown to England to meet her in 2014 with full knowledge of her age, having met her on Facebook. He served 12 months in a British prison, before being transferred to his home country where he was released after a further month.
Disgusting. Convicted child rapist only sentenced to 4 years, serves only 13 months, and continues his career as if nothing happened. I thought for sure it was allegations instead of a conviction because of how they talked about it.
More people hate-tweeted about Khelif’s gender than have ever tuned into a match of women’s boxing. Don’t be fooled, these people don’t care about the integrity of any sport, they just want an excuse to humiliate women.
I doubt they’re even people, if it’s on M***'s bot-infested, rotting corpse of a website. Just part of the reason “drama” in that cesspool should never be elevated or cared about more than any other tabloid clickbait. And any actual humans remaining are inevitably the most miserable, gullible, brain-damaged fools (or looking to swindle them).
I hadn’t heard of DSD before.
And I would like Republicans to denote exactly which sports each person with such disorders gets to play in. XXY are men? Even though at least one has been pregnant?. How about “men” with Swyer Syndrome? They may not even know they’re “men!”
And how do we prove who is who?
Are we going to start doing genetic testing of athletes?
They already do genetic testing on the highest level of competition. She’s been excluded by IBA because of it.
The Olympics is the highest level of competition, so no they don’t.
Nor should they for the reasons I just stated above.
Do you really think someone with naturally-formed breasts and a vagina should be prevented from women’s sports because a genetic test revealed something which they didn’t know themselves- that they have a Y chromosome?
Is that really how you think things should go?
I’m simply informing you that the IBA (International Boxing Association) does do genetic testing. And this woman have been excluded as a result. It has already happened. The debate of which is slightly higher level than the other is pointless and irrelevant
As per what I think. I think women’s sport was created to promote sports for women and boost their participation. And also to give them an equal playingfield. due to men (who are genetically different), often have a physical advantage because of it.
If a woman, have these genetic traits that give men their physical advantages (and I’m speaking in broad, general terms). I can understand if there is a debate about allowing her to compete with other women that doesn’t. It is after all one of the two reasons women’s sports were created in the first place.
