The head of the breakaway boxing body has backed the International Olympic Committee's handling of gender issues at the Paris Olympics.
VILLA PINTE, France: The president of the governing body hoping to stage the next Olympic boxing tournament said he supported the International Olympic Committee's eligibility policies for the Paris Olympics and called on those who lack a deep understanding of gender issues to consider the decisions. Leave it to medical professionals and scientists. .
World Boxing President Boris van der Vorst also told The Associated Press on Thursday that his organization always prioritizes the safety of athletes when formulating its policies on health and gender, while acknowledging that combat sports sometimes take into consideration All athletes need extra protection.
Van der Voorst still strongly disagrees with critics of the IOC's handling of the Olympics, particularly the eligibility of female boxers Imane Khalif of Algeria and Lin Yu Ting of Taiwan.
“I think it's very important that when people are qualified to compete here, we have to respect them,” Van der Vorst said. “I think it's a very sad situation for all the boxers, everyone here.”
The now-defunct International Boxing Association, which World Boxing hopes to replace, claimed that both fighters failed the gender eligibility test at its 2023 world championships after both had competed in amateur boxing for years. were rejected
Khalif won her first fight in Paris on Thursday when her opponent, Angela Carini of Italy, retired after just 46 seconds. Even though Karini said she was not making a political statement about Khalifa, Karini's tearful departure from the fight became a global sensation on social media and in the Western culture wars.
“What happened today shouldn't have happened this way,” Van der Vorst told The Associated Press. The pressure that comes from social media, press and others is not very helpful and enters everyone's mind.
Criticism of the two boxers is based in part on the policies and decisions of the IBA, which has pulled out of the Olympic movement since 2019 after years of IOC concerns about leadership, integrity and financial transparency.
The IBA disqualified Khalif from its world championships for what it said were high testosterone levels and stripped Lynn of a bronze medal after claiming he failed unspecified eligibility requirements in a biochemical test.
Van der Vorst World Boxing is an alliance of dozens of countries that broke away from the IBA after an internal power struggle over the ouster of Russian President Omar Kremlin. An IOC task force has run the last two Olympic boxing tournaments.
If World Boxing gets the go-ahead to become the sport's Olympic governing body, it will be responsible for the major events in the Olympic cycle. If the world boxing does not succeed, boxing will probably be removed from the Olympic program.
Van der Vorst said it's “too early” to know World Boxing's exact policies on gender identity, given the unique physical demands and risks of boxing.
“First of all, safety above all else,” van der Voorst said. “But I think with combat sports, there are other reasons for how to deal with these types of situations.”
The IOC used the 2016 rules to determine the gender eligibility of boxers, while several Olympic sports' governing bodies have updated their gender rules in the past three years, including World Aquatics, World Athletics and the International Federation of Athletics Federations. riding bike. Track and field's governing body also tightened rules last year for athletes who differ in terms of sexual development.
“We will appoint our medical committee as soon as possible after these games to make policies, and they are underway,” van der Voorst said. But they have to finalize their policy and the overall issue is very complicated. You have to have good tests, not just gender tests, but medical tests. More importantly, I think it's not up to you and me.
Van der Vorst and other members of his organization are in Paris as observers — and sometimes, recruits from other countries — to join the only governing body with a chance to keep boxing on the Olympic program when the IOC decides on the sport's fate as early as 2025. World Boxing currently has 37 members.
World Boxing is also studying the mechanics of major tournaments it hopes to stage, including the Youth Olympics in Dakar, Senegal, in 2026 and the Los Angeles Games in 2028.
Both Taiwan and Algeria are still members of the IBA, but Lin competed in a World Boxing Invitational tournament in Pueblo, Colorado last spring. She lost her opening match to Brazilian Olympic champion Joseline Romeo.
Van der Vorst left the eventful day frustrated by the wild conclusions and speculations circulating on social media about both fighters.
“I haven't seen a single test that proves (boxers) are transgender,” Van der Vorst said. That's why it's not very respectful of the boxers who compete here … to talk about them in those terms. This is what I am trying to emphasize. When there is evidence, yes, it is a different situation. But I haven't seen anything to prove it.”
