The decision by World Boxing to implement genetic sex testing for all competitors at the upcoming Olympics may pose significant challenges for Kirsty Coventry, the newly elected president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
Coventry, who is set to succeed Thomas Bach on June 23, will inherit the complexities surrounding the eligibility of gold medalists like Algeria’s Imane Khelif and Taiwan’s Lin Yu-Ting in future contests.
The attention on Khelif has intensified following the announcement of the new regulations, drawing commentary from high-profile figures, including JK Rowling.
The controversy regarding Khelif’s involvement began to escalate after World Boxing’s announcement, particularly after a report by US journalist Alan Abrahamson for 3 Wire Sports emerged within 48 hours, revealing leaked test results from the 2023 World Championships held in India.
The results, which were allegedly processed by Dr. Lal PathLabs in New Delhi, controversially indicated Khelif’s chromosomes as “abnormal” with a “male karyotype.”
This sequence of events raises numerous questions, and the situation has sparked a fierce response from arguably the world’s most recognisable author.
Rowling praised the release of the leaked findings, asserting that women “won’t be battered to death in the ring by men.”
She further articulated, “I never said or believed Khelif was trans. I knew he was a man.”
The report suggested that Mustapha Berraf, president of the Algerian Olympic Committee, pressured the IOC regarding Khelif’s eligibility for the Paris 2024 Games.
During the Games, Bach labelled both Khelif and Lin as women, despite claims that the International Boxing Association (IBA) had deemed both fighters ineligible for the female category based on tests conducted in New Delhi.
The IOC emphasised that it would rely on the athletes’ official documentation to determine sex in sports, while criticising the IBA’s testing protocols, which had led to the body being stripped of its authority over Olympic boxing.
“The entire process is flawed—it was hastily executed,” IOC spokesperson Mark Adams stated at the time. “From the inception of the test to its communication, plus the public disclosure, it’s so flawed that it’s unmanageable.”
Nonetheless, it is this same “flawed” process that World Boxing intends to adopt to assess the gender of competitors starting July 1.
World Boxing has received provisional approval to replace the IBA as the governing body for the Los Angeles Games, but has faced mounting pressure from boxers and their federations to establish sex eligibility criteria.
The governing body specifically cited Khelif when announcing the new directive, indicating that the Algerian gold medalist must undergo screening prior to being allowed to compete in upcoming events, including the Eindhoven Box Cup next month in the Netherlands.
IOC officials will be anxiously awaiting Khelif’s test results ahead of the Netherlands meet. Should those results indicate she should not be competing with women, Coventry’s appointment could become far more challenging than anticipated.
Upon accepting her new role in March, Coventry underscored her commitment to protecting the integrity of the female category and ensuring that no similar controversies arise again, as seen in Paris.
“There are always lessons to be learned. While we can’t foresee every issue, we must strive to prevent a repeat scenario during an Olympic event,” she remarked.
As Bach prepares to vacate his position shortly, it will fall to Coventry to manage the potential fallout should the IOC be compelled to disqualify Khelif upon confirmation of male chromosomes through gene sex testing.
This coincides with Bach’s earlier statements in March, dismissing the entire matter as “fake news” propagated by a campaign of misinformation from the Russian state.
Compiled by SportArena.com.au.
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