The Olympics is set to honor two female boxers who have faced allegations of being male, following the victory of one in her semi-final match tonight, granting her an opportunity to compete for gold.
Taiwan’s Lin Yu-Ting, 28, triumphed over Turkey’s Esra Yildiz Kahraman, 27, earning her spot in the women’s 57kg category final.
She will compete alongside Algeria’s Imane Khelif, 25, in the Olympic boxing finals after both have contended with significant opposition regarding their participation in the Paris Olympics.
Lin’s success this evening in advancing to the final serves as a notable counter to her critics, as well as to those opposing Khelif, both of whom have battled towards gold amidst significant controversies surrounding Paris 2024.
Olympic leaders may feel justified in their choice not to disqualify Lin and Khelif after the International Boxing Association indicated they did not meet gender eligibility criteria during a tournament in India last year.
Lin Yu-ting defeated Turkey’s Esra Yildiz Kahraman to fight for an Olympic gold medal
Lin (left) is one of two boxers participating in Paris at the centre of a gender eligibility row
This evening, she let her performance speak volumes, earning a unanimous decision against an opponent who was two inches shorter.
Lin rose above the controversy surrounding her participation by bowing and acknowledging the 13,000-strong audience at Roland Garros, transformed from a tennis venue into a boxing arena for both anticipated matches.
Khelif’s star power has led Olympic officials to schedule her bout against China’s Liu Yang as the final event of Friday night’s lineup, aimed at maximizing viewership from American and international audiences post-work hours.
Both Lin, 28, and Khelif, 25, faced disqualification during last year’s women’s world championships after not passing critical gender testing.
Boxing enthusiast Gilles Johanne, 49, from Paris stated: ‘This is wonderful for the Olympics. I’m delighted by her victory. The opinions of others do not matter. She is a legitimate Olympic athlete like any other.’
‘My wife and I have felt immense sympathy for this young woman. It must have been very isolating for her this week.’
Standing at 5ft 9in, Lin was registered as female at birth, just like Khelif, who also possesses a female passport.
Olympic leaders have stood by their decision to allow both Khelif and Lin, who started boxing at the age of 13, to compete in Paris 2024.
Kahraman made a crossed fingers symbol after losing out via unanimous decision
Lin defied the storm around her participation and will next face Poland’s Julia Atena Szeremeta
Prior to the Olympics, the Taiwanese sports authorities conducted additional tests to confirm Lin’s eligibility following last year’s disqualification.
Officials representing Lin stated that the accusations were discriminatory and a calculated attempt to undermine the athlete’s mental well-being.
The IOC indicated that eligibility assessments for boxers were based on gender-related regulations in effect during the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics.
In recent years, various sports have updated their gender regulations, including World Aquatics, World Athletics, and the International Cycling Union, with the track federation tightening rules on athletes with differences in sex development.
The IOC, having assumed control over boxing in Paris due to governance issues, financial opacity, and ongoing corruption allegations against the IBA, oversees the sport.
Despite the IBA being helmed by Russian president Umar Kremlev and being supported by state-owned Gazprom, Olympic officials assert that the situation involving the two boxers remains complex, with no definitive scientific evidence proving they are not women.
IOC president Bach remarked: ‘We are addressing women’s boxing here. We have two competitors who were born women, raised as women, who hold female passports, and have competed as women for many years—this clearly defines a woman.’
Kahraman’s X symbol was also displayed by Lin’s previous opponent Svetlana Staneva
The two fighters congratulated each other and Kahraman held the ropes open for Lin
However, the IBA’s genetic tests indicated that both Khelif and Lin possess male XY chromosomes, but neither identifies as transgender.
Notable figures such as JK Rowling, British swimmer Sharron Davies, and double Olympic gold medalist Nicola Adams have voiced their concerns regarding the participation of these athletes in women’s sports.
Today, JK Rowling reiterated her stance against the boxers who did not pass the gender tests.
In a post on X, she declared: ‘Critics arguing that the IOC’s reliance on documentation rather than sex testing implies that Khelif is trans are misrepresenting the issue. I do not claim that Khelif is trans. My objection, shared by many, is to the normalization of male violence in women’s sports.’
Davies commented: ‘This is appalling. The IOC has disgraced itself. Essentially legalizing violence against women. This must come to an end! What on earth is wrong with them?’
Former Prime Minister Liz Truss inquired: ‘When will this insanity stop? Men cannot become women. Why isn’t the British government raising objections?’
In response, Olympic officials condemned what they characterized as an online ‘hate’ campaign targeting the boxers.
Khelif’s quarter-final rival, Anna Luca Hamori from Hungary, had previously shared a post depicting “a beauty and a beast” leading up to their fight, asserting she would fight ‘a man or a woman’ without issue.
Olympic chiefs have defended the involvement in Paris 2024 of both Khelif and Lin (right)
The image subsequently disappeared from her social media account.
The Algerian Olympic and Sports Committee has submitted an official complaint to the IOC regarding the online harassment directed at Khelif, labeling it ‘a serious breach of sports ethics and the Olympic Charter’ by one of the participants in the boxing tournament at the Paris Olympics, as noted in a statement on their Facebook page.
While the statement did not identify the boxer allegedly making disparaging remarks against the Algerian athlete, it cautioned that the IOC ‘has issued a final notice to remove all posts concerning our heroine, Iman Khalif.’
It concluded: ‘We reserve the right to take legal action against anyone involved in this heinous campaign against our heroine, Imane Khelif.’
