The International Boxing Association (IBA) has announced that it will take legal action against the International Olympic Committee (IOC) over the participation of Imane Khelif and Lin Yu-ting in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. According to the IBA, both boxers were deemed “ineligible” to compete in the women’s category following gender evaluations in 2022 and 2023. Despite these determinations, the IOC allowed both to participate in the qualifying events and the Games, where they won gold medals.

COMPLAINT IN SWITZERLAND, FRANCE AND THE US

The IBA has filed a formal complaint with the Attorney General of Switzerland, Stefan Blätter, and plans to make similar complaints to judicial authorities in France and the United States. The organization argues that the inclusion of Khelif and Lin in the Olympic competition represents a violation of the principles of fairness in sport and could constitute a risk to the safety of competitors, according to Swiss law.

For years, the IBA has advocated strict policies on gender eligibility in women’s boxing. The organization maintains that athletes should compete in categories in accordance with their biological sex and has implemented medical and scientific criteria to determine eligibility. In this context, US President Donald Trump’s recent executive order entitled “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports” has been interpreted by the IBA as a validation of its position.

IBA President Umar Kremlev expressed concern about the impact of the IOC’s decision and encouraged the female boxers affected by Khelif and Lin’s participation to take legal action against those responsible for the decision. Kremlev stated that the IBA will provide free legal support to athletes who wish to file lawsuits against IOC president Thomas Bach and sports director Kit McConnell.

FUTURE OF WOMEN’S BOXING

Looking ahead, the IBA has announced that it will implement stricter measures at the upcoming Women’s World Boxing Championships, to be held in Niš, Serbia. These measures will include a tightening of gender eligibility checks to ensure fairness in competition.

SOLUTION FOR TRANSGENDER ATHLETES

The controversy surrounding the inclusion of transgender and differences in sexual development (DSD) athletes continues to generate debate in the sports world. While some sports organizations have opted to relax their policies to allow the participation of these athletes in women’s categories, others, such as the IBA, have adopted more restrictive positions based on biological and scientific criteria.

The IOC, for its part, has not officially responded to the IBA’s accusations or to the legal action taken. However, the body has in the past defended its inclusion policy and has delegated to each international federation the responsibility for establishing its own eligibility rules.